Code Name: Wise Girl
by CodeNameWiseGirl
Summary: Annabeth Everlyn Chase, better known as CodeNameWiseGirl, 18 year old, a top notch hard killer and a servant to rich yet evil gang leader Luke Castellan, is tasked to assassinate 18 year old heir of the Seawater Company, Percy Jackson. But upon learning more about him, will Annabeth be able to kill him? Well, she is just about to find out how more complicated her life would be. AU!
1. Prologue

**Hey people! This is my first fanfiction so please be gentle! Well, important things first. There might be misspellings and wrong grammar here so if you spot them, kindly ignore them. I don't really re-check my works. I don't own PJO or anything like that. I just own the plot for this fic and the OCs. Cover art is by Viria. **

**Disclaimer: I don't and will never own PJO and all that stuff. This applies for all chapters.**

**R&amp;R!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Prologue**

**Meet The Killer**

**Annabeth's POV:**

_Blood._

_Guns._

_Darkness._

_I, Annabeth Everlyn Chase, was already consumed by evil deeds._

_I, Annabeth Everlyn Chase, was consumed by darkness._

_I didn't want it._

…_.or did I?_

I readied my gun, waiting for the target to come out of the building.

I hid behind a tree. I looked down on my clothes. Oh really? Luke made me wear these clothes. He thought that black shorts and black tank top fit me. Maybe they did. But I can't move comfortably with these on. And especially the black boots that reached my knees, I hated those.

The target was a wealthy businessman who learned about Luke's gang. He threatened Luke to tell it to his parents. That was why Luke Castellan paid me to get rid of him. Did I mention how much money he spent to make me do it?

Oh you can never imagine.

But that money was nothing for Luke. His family was the most successful family ever in all of America. Their company grew larger over the years. But Luke was a gang leader, and no one knew about this…except me and his mates in the gang.

And of course, this businessman I was targeting.

I tied my curly blonde hair back on a ponytail. It really helped me feel comfortable.

The target walked out of the tall building with bodyguards surrounding him. A limousine was ready for his departure. I shot all the bodyguards first. They fell on the ground and the remaining men panicked. Their eyes wandered around searching for the shooter. The guards shoved the businessman inside the limousine and the black limo was driven away.

The remaining men found me and chased me. I wore my mask and ran. There were exchange of bullets and by-passers panicked and scattered everywhere.

I knocked off a biker and took his motorcycle. And then I chased the limo with five men on my tail. While driving, I shot one guard on the chest and shot the remaining four. I got so much money for this, and I won't be defeated by five ugly men. Luke trusted that I could do it, because honestly, I could. I'd been doing this for three years now. And I was trained – no, I trained myself.

To survive in this cruel world I trained myself….

To be a hard killer.

And for my sick little sister, Shenaree, I had to do this. And because I think our parents had no intention in taking us. Those bastards…

I accelerated and when people saw me, they screamed. I didn't have a helmet on but I had a mask…of all things, a mask.

But I needed that so I wouldn't be recognized.

I shot the wheels of the limo and it stopped and crashed into another car.

A few men wearing black guided the businessman outside. I pointed my gun at them and shot, but nothing happened. I realized that I was out of bullets!

And so the bodyguards shot me yet I rolled to one side and avoided it. I ran towards them and gave one man a kick on the face. I turned and then kicked the other. There were three guards. I could take them all.

One tried to punch me but I ducked and he punched nothing. I then kicked him on his, er, family jewel.

I took a gun from one man and shot them all. The businessman with a goatee looked afraid, but he didn't show it and just chuckled.

"Code name Wise Girl…" he said, clapping his hands. "I guess you are indeed her. Well, did Castellan pay you to kill me?"

I smiled, but I knew he couldn't see. "You better not speak, Mr. Smith, or else I'll pull your tongue out of your mouth."

He smiled in amusement. "Code Name Wise Girl, who are you, really? Who is behind that mask? I heard that you are a top notch hard killer. It looks like you are. I also heard that you are under the rule of someone. People say you kill when he tells you to. Is that "someone" Luke Castellan?"

I pointed my gun at him and people watched in horror as I pointed it on Smith's head. They ran away.

"Shut your mouth, Mr. Smith." I hissed. "If people heard you, I'll make sure you are going straight down to hell."

"Well, that'd be my favourite place! Bring me there already, and one day, we'll be together."

To grant his wish, I shot the gun and he fell on the ground, blood flowing from his head.

"Someday, Mr. Smith, I'll be with you down there." I mumbled softly.

Before the police came, I headed to Luke's secret lair. I removed my mask. The lair was on a dark, abandoned place which Luke repaired. There were metal doors and I had to knock the secret knock so they would open.

Knock knock…knock…knock knock knock…knock.

The metal doors opened and by the time I got in, they closed.

I found myself on an empty hallway lit by torches. After what seemed like forever, I reached yet another metal door. I knocked.

Knock…knock…knock knock knock.

The door opened revealing a big room. And when I say big, I mean big.

The room was so big that you would never think it was a room…

It was more like a house.

I was still amazed by Luke's idea of creating this lair. I had been here for a million times but I was still amazed.

There were mean-looking guys inside but Luke's gang wasn't extended to guys only, but also for girls.

There seemed to be a party, because music blared and people were dancing and drinking to their heart's content.

I looked for a close friend of mine, Phoebe McKinzie, also known as Mad Amy.

I had a hard time with all the people inviting me to drink or to dance and stuff. I never really liked parties. And I hated loud music. I wanted to think properly, and I wanted silence and peace. Yet I knew it was impossible.

I found Phoebe dancing like a slut on the dance floor with some guy I never recognized. "Phoebe!" I yelled so I could be heard through the loud music.

She turned and her face brightened. "Annie! You came out alive!"

I laughed and hugged her. "Of course I would. Where's Luke?"

She pouted. "I thought you're here for me, turns out you needed Luke. Well, he's upstairs, CN Wise Girl."

"What's he doing?" I asked.

Phoebe's red dress distracted me. Her brown hair didn't match the dress.

Phoebe looked annoyed. "He is drinking with some prostitutes, Everlyn. He's only 18."

"Well, I'll be upstairs, sis." I said. "See yah."

"Yeah right."

I walked with heavy steps. Luke was drinking again. I wonder if that's because he's happy. I might have blood on my hands, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm still 18 and in senior year – except I didn't go to school anymore. I mean, as evil as he may look, Luke was just 18. Being evil doesn't change the fact that he was just 18 and he couldn't drown in alcohol.

I opened the door to his room. I found about three girls with him. When he saw me, his eyes widened. But his shock soon faded and he broke into a grin.

"Well, Annabeth!" he stood up and extended his arms, as if expecting for a hug. "You came back! That means you did your _job _well!"

"Yeah I did." I glanced on the three girls. "Would you mind…?"

Luke understood and guided the girls out. He closed the door and turned serious.

"Did you make sure no one knew?" he asked.

I nodded. He sighed in relief. "Good. If my step-dad learns about this, I'll be dead meat."

He was right. His step-dad trusted him even though he wasn't his true son. Luke's mother married this man named Hermes and they had a son which was Luke. But Hermes died and May, Luke's mother, re-married. She happened to marry Poseidon Jackson, a man with a billion dollar enterprise. But Poseidon had a son already, who was the same age as Luke. Which meant that Poseidon was married before but maybe he divorced his ex wife or something, I don't know. But Poseidon trusted Luke. He had even considered giving Luke the company.

And if he learned that Luke was a gang leader…

He really is dead meat.

Luke tried for a smile. "I knew I could count on you, Annie."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. I did that for money. And you gave me _lots _of money. Plus, you are….well, I kind of treat you as a friend."

He smirked. I noticed that he looked different today. He wore a button down shirt, khaki shorts, and leather loafers. What had happened to his favourite jeans?

"How's Shenaree, by the way?" the blond gang leader asked. "Is she still in the hospital?"

"Yes." I replied sadly. "That is why I need the money, Luke. It means so much to me and it could save Shenaree's life."

"Get going, then. Go and be with your sister. Mission accomplished, Code name Wise Girl. Good job. I'll call you if I need anything."

I nodded and went to my house first. I changed my clothes. Now I wore skinny jean, an orange shirt, and a pair of sneakers. I also removed the ponytail and let my curly blonde loose.

For safety, Luke told me to burn anything I had on the day of assassination. So I burned the shorts, the tank top, the boots, and even the rubber band I used to tie back my hair. I also washed myself so there wouldn't be any traces of blood.

_But I still have blood on my hands. _I thought. _No matter how many times I wash, it will not be removed._

So yeah, this is my life. And I, Annabeth Everlyn Chase, am tired of it.

oOo

**Please tell me if it's worth continuing. I mean, I need to know your opinions, right? So please click the review button and tell me. And I know that Percy isn't on this chapter yet, but don't worry, if I get five reviews for this chapter, the next one will come up fast with Percy in there. Haha and can you guess who Luke's brother is? I guess you know. Tell me if it's lame idea.**

**Well, this is CodeNameWiseGirl, signing off.**

**R&amp;R!**


	2. Note (Please Read)

**Hey'ah amazing people! **

So I've gotta say this: I'm so sorry because this isnt an update. This is only an Author's Note. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, probably "Hey she's only got a chapter done and now she's givin' us an Author's Note.

Yeah, I know right?

But things should be clarified before I go on:

1st: I need to know if you _even _want me to continue this stuff. (There are already 3 people who did say I need to continue this. And I've got faves and follows) But I need to hear more from you because seriously, I have lots of ideas running in my mind and I want to know if I should not continue this and just go on with the others.

2nd: Is this a lame idea?

3rd: Mind you guys, this fic is Rated T because of minor swearing and death and murder. If you see a derogatory word here please know that I should put it there so I can write the character's feelings well.

4th: Annabeth is a hard killer who kills for Luke. She is also part of his gang, somehow. She is best known as Code Name Wise Girl because, obviously, she is wise. (Well, following Luke around is _not _wise)

And that's all. I would like to thank those who clicked the favorite/follow button and those who reviewed.

Love yah all!

And so this is CodeNameWiseGirl, signing off.

Have a happy Christmas, everyone!


	3. Past?

**Oh-My-Gods. Those were the words I heard myself saying when I checked on the status of this fic. Guys you made me squeal in joy! **

**To Tomato (Guest): I'm soooo glad you are enjoying this story so far. Thanks for telling me :)**

**To SilverSeaweedBrains: Hey'ah thanks for the encouragement! You've been the first to review and now you're back. Thanks :)**

**To hiiina: Your review really encouraged me to continue!**

**To CanwejustTALKaboutbooks: Woah. Thanks for spending your precious time giving me a long review. When I read your review I was like :O BTW yeah I know right? I've read fics like that (back when I was still a guest) and was kind of disappointed because I _really _thought that it would turn out good.**

**To Rowel. Reyna. 14: Well thank you! I hope that it turns out pretty good, too (I'm not sure. I really lack the confidence)**

**To (Guest): Ah, yes the plot. I never expected it to be "nice" as you said but thanks! :)**

**To William Carstairs: You know that feeling when people tell you they liked your work? I know that feeling. That's because of you and a whole bunch of other reviewers. Thanks :)**

**To FlickeringFlame (Guest): Glad you liked this fic!**

**To Catnip-wisegirl: Well here's an update! Thanks for reviewing. **

**To michaelanneschultz: I hope you enjoy this chapter (although its just about Annie's past)**

**To xxShafferxx: Awesome! I'm grateful that you gave Cn: Wise Girl a chance.**

**Whew! I have a lot to thank, especially those who clicked the favorite/follow button. Thank you, guys! **

**R&amp;R!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 2**

**The Killer's Past**

**Third Person:**

"Dad! Dad!" a ten year old Annabeth tried to stop her father from leaving. "Why? Where are you going, Dad?"

The man named Frederick Chase glared at his daughter. He also gave his younger daughter a sharp one. "Your mother left me because of you, little brats."

"Dad!" young Annabeth protested.

The young blonde took her father's arm, but he shook it off him. "Get off me, you brat. Don't you understand? Without you, Athena wouldn't have left me."

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. "Dad, why are you saying that?"

Annabeth's younger sister, Shenaree, looked at her sister in confusion. "What are you talking about, Annie?"

The blonde placed her hands on her sister's shoulders. "Shenaree, stay here, okay? I'll get Dad to change his mind."

Annabeth ran up to her father, who was already leaving. She grabbed his leg, and angry sky blue eyes turned to her.

Frederick Chase looked like a madman. Annabeth shrunk back in fear.

"Dad, why are you doing this?" she asked.

The man kicked his daughter away and growled, "Shut your bitchy mouth, girl."

The man turned back and left. Annabeth trudged back to her younger sister. Her face fell, blonde curls covering her tear-streaked face and puffed up eyes.

Six year old Shenaree was playing when she saw her big sister. She looked up at her innocently. "Annie, where's Daddy?"

The girl said nothing. She just walked up to her, knelt, and hugged her tightly. She sobbed horribly, muttering, "Sorry. I'm so sorry."

"What's wrong, Annie? Where did Daddy go?"

"He left us, Shenaree." Annabeth replied in between sobs. "He abandoned us."

oOo

_Life wasn't good in Aunt Persephone's house. _

That was 14 year old Annabeth Chase's thought while running away with her sister from Persephone's house. They were treated as slaves there. Persephone and Hades made Annabeth and Shenaree Chase _living Cinderellas. _When Frederick Chase left the two, Persephone decided to take them in. Annabeth had thought that this was out of kindness, but she was wrong. Her aunt and uncle fed them with dog food. Rice mixed with leftover food was fed into their mouths. And the leftover was horrible. Literally. And aside of that, they were made slaves. They were given the attic as a room. Finally, Annabeth decided that they didn't have a future there. She ran away with her sister.

"Where do we live then, Annie?" Shenaree asked.

"I don't know." Annabeth replied in a small voice. "But I'll figure something out."

She didn't figure something out.

Nightfall came. Annabeth and her sister sat on the sand. They were on Virginia Beach. Since it was dark already, there were no people, which was okay with Annabeth.

Shenaree fell asleep instantly. But the blonde teenager couldn't. She gazed the ocean and then looked up at the sky. She watched the stars shine brightly.

She wanted to hate Virginia. A lot of horrible things happened to her here.

Her mother and father were jerks. Annabeth also wanted to hate them. Well, she wanted to hate her _father. _He made her life like this.

If he hadn't left, she would have been studying now, hanging out with friends. 4 years ago she told herself that it wasn't their fault why Athena left.

But now…

She wondered…

Was it her fault? Was it Shenaree's fault?

The past four years had been horrible. And she had thoughts of suicide. But Shenaree kept her from doing that. She kept thinking that if she died, Shenaree would have no one beside her. No one.

Annabeth looked at her sister peacefully sleeping. She touched her face, but then she took her hand off. Shenaree felt hot! Annabeth panicked. She checked Shenaree's pulse, but….

"Shenaree! Wake up!" she pleaded. "Please, wake up!"

Suddenly, rain poured over them. The rain wasn't making Shenaree any better.

"Oh great!" Annabeth yelled at the sky. "Just great!"

She slapped her sister's cheeks lightly. The little girl's face was pale, and her straight blonde hair was dripping wet. The rain made her worse.

The young blonde sobbed. "No…I can't lose you, too!"

With all her might, Annabeth carried her sister to the hospital. She begged the doctors to heal her sister. But they said that she needed to have money first before they cured her.

Annabeth ran out of the hospital and headed to Aunt Persephone's house. She thought it was stupid of her, but she had no choice. Her sister would die if she didn't get money.

Persephone let her in. Hades wasn't there, but Persephone was enough. She just needed to beg for money.

"Aunt, please let me borrow the money. Shenaree is dying!"

"Ha!" the brunette threw her head back and laughed. "You think you can? Stupid girl. I wouldn't even give you a penny!"

"But – ''

"No buts, Annie. You're coming with me."

Persephone dragged Annabeth by the hair. She went to the kitchen. "Now clean this up and let your useless sister die there."

Her anger blinded her.

She grabbed a knife from the sink and stabbed her aunt many times. Persephone grunted and then fell lifelessly on the floor. Annabeth took out the knife from her body.

When she seemed to regain her senses, she looked at the woman who lay dead in front of her. She stared at the bloody knife on her hand for what seemed like years. She gasped, and the knife clattered on the floor beside the dead woman.

What had she done?

But there was no time. She dashed in her aunt's room and took money. She washed her hands first and then ran out of the house.

oOo

Annabeth trained herself. She learned that if she wanted to survive, she needed to do something that will gain her lots of money.

She and her sister stayed every night at the Virginia Beach.

While Shenaree was sleeping, she took a knife from an old backpack she'd picked up in the trash.

She blindfolded herself with a piece of cloth and started kicking and punching and stabbing. She rolled and then started stabbing again. She wasn't really hitting anything, but this was good.

She frowned mentally when she felt someone coming. Annabeth continued punching and stabbing as if she didn't feel anything. And then when that "someone" was close, she pointed her knife at him.

"That's incredible." A male voice said.

She took off her blindfold to see a young blond with intimidating blue eyes and muscular build.

"Who are you?" she demanded, her knife still pointed at the guy.

"Are you going to kill a tourist?"

"You're not from Virginia?"

The guy laughed. "Well no. My family's got business here. By the way, what are you doing here alone?"

She slowly put the knife down and frowned. "I'm not alone."

She pointed at Shenaree.

"Oh. Why is she sleeping there?"

"That's none of your business."

"Lemme guess. You're homeless?"

Annabeth glared at him pointedly. Well, yes, she _was _homeless, but she hated being called that.

"Why do you care anyway?" she sneered.

The blond held up his hands in surrender. "Woah, easy, girl."

And then he brought out a knife from his back pocket and pointed it at Annabeth. She kicked his hand and grabbed her own knife. They sparred. The guy swung his knife but Annabeth ducked and then punched him on the stomach.

He groaned.

Annabeth then kicked him on his stomach to double the damage and he fell over, clutching his pretty messed up stomach.

The young lady put her foot on his chest and pointed the blade at him.

"That's what you get when you try to mess with me." She said.

"Let me…." The guy croaked. "…go…"

Annabeth's brilliant grey eyes narrowed. "You just tried to kill me."

"No really…I was only testing your skills."

She sighed and let him go. She offered her hand and he took it reluctantly.

"You're not going to judo-flip me this time, are you?"

She managed to smile a little bit. "I won't."

He stood and brushed the sand off his jeans. "I'm Luke."

"Mine's Annabeth."

"You're pretty good, y'know?"

"I know." Annabeth said proudly. "I'm especially good with a knife."

Luke snickered.

Annabeth's brows arched. "What?"

"How about with a gun?" Luke asked. "Are you also good with it?"

"Actually…. I've never used a gun."

Luke glanced at Shenaree and then smiled. "How about I give you a job?"

"What job?"

"A job that makes use of your skills." He said. "And also gives you a lot of money."

"What _is _that job?"

Luke's blue eyes glinted murderously. "Kill people when I tell you to. And you have to join my gang."

oOo

**Annabeth's POV:**

I woke with a start.

It was that dream again. Why did I have to dream about that? Dreams really loved teasing me. I guess they enjoyed the little entertainment.

I got ready to visit my sister in the hospital.

Cancer was slowly eating my sister away, and I couldn't even be beside her for a minute. Ever since we got here in New York, and ever since I worked for Luke, I had barely visited my sister. And when she's not in the hospital, she was left at home.

Luke told me that I shouldn't be worried about Shenaree because she's already 14 and can now take care of herself. But I guess that only made me worry more.

I was about to leave the house when my phone rang.

I flinched.

I took the phone out of my pocket and said, "Hey there, Annabeth Chase speaking."

"Annabeth…."

It was Luke, his tone dead serious.

"Hey! What's up – ''

"Annie, we've got a problem here. Something _real _bad happened."

**Hey, people! I'm so bad right? I left you with a cliff hanger. But expect more of that. BTW thanks for the support, guys! You made my day. And uh…yeah. Percy wasn't in this chapter. But next chap I promise! And yeah, first chapters are really boring but when we get to the real story I think it'd be good. (We need a foreshadowing of Annie's past)**

**So again, this is CodeNameWiseGirl, signing off.**


	4. First Meeting?

**Hey people! So I'm here again for another chapter of CNWG! Did I update yesterday? Yeah. I think I have an 'Update Disease' but I need to update now when I still can because when school days come again, I would barely have the time to update. And thanks for the reviews! Just the third chap and I already have 20 reviews! Thanks to 3 Guests, SilverSeaweedBrain, CanwejustTALKaboutbooks, michaelaanneschultz, William Carstairs, and Rowel. Reyna. 14 for reviewing! People, you made my day!**

**To William Carstairs: Hey. I'm so sorry I couldn't do everything you wanted me to. It's all going to happen but this is not the right time. I'll have to piece them bit by bit. But they will come :)**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 3**

**The First Meeting**

**Annabeth's POV:**

I rushed to Luke's secret lair.

I didn't know what happened, but he sounded tensed. Like he was…shaken up or something. Oh my gods, did his parents find out? I hope not because that'd be total crap for the both of us.

I hailed a cab and peered over the window. I was being anxious. I'd wished for the cab to go faster, but traffic was hell in New York.

I was so worried about Luke that I'd forgotten about my sister. I was _planning _to be by her side even just on this day but I think that'd to be cancelled.

I tried to get a hold of Shenaree but she wasn't picking up, so I just sent her a message hoping she would understand.

_Hey, Shen._

_Sorry. Something urgent came up. I think I would not be there for the whole day. Stay put until I get back. _

_ Annie_

I pressed the 'send' button and suddenly regretted it. Shenaree would be yelling crap at me when I get back. Literally.

I told the cab to pull me off the highway. He looked at me weirdly, "Miss, there's nothin' here."

I was tempted to roll my eyes. "Well, there's something and it's none of your business."

He snorted and dropped me off. The driver sped away and I was alone. The side of the road had a forest and that's where I'm headed. I walked a few feet and found myself face-to-face with the familiar metallic doors. I grunted.

When I knocked, I was tempted to pull my hand away. The doors were cold! It wasn't even winter yet. But I managed it and came inside Luke's room. I was surprised to see no one but the blond haired man I wasn't so thrilled to be with at the moment.

"Where are the others?" I asked.

Luke turned away. "I didn't want them to know."

"Know what?" it sounded harsher than what I'd expected it to be. "I mean, hey, is everything cool?"

He stared at me with those piercing ice cold eyes. Dang it, I shouldn't have asked.

He narrowed those crystal blue orbs at me. "I can ask the same question. Is everything cool?"

My arms were crossed over my chest. "Well, you just ruined my planned bonding time with my sister and I can imagine her fuming right _now. _Wrong timing as always, Luke."

He banged the table with his hand and I flinched, though I made sure Luke didn't notice.

"What's the matter?"

His mouth twisted into a sneer. "That bastard Percy. Dad decided to give him the _whole _company without anything left for me at all."

My jaw dropped.

When he noticed my action, his sneer turned into a more terrifying expression which I couldn't really decipher. "That bastard got everything and he didn't even want it, while I, the one who really wanted it, got left with sandbag."

Me, clueless this time (though I would never admit that) just gave a nervous smile, which I hadn't done in like, _3 years. _Being nervous was really the last thing I wanted to feel in a situation like this.

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked.

Luke shook me. "Help me, Annabeth!"

I frowned. "How can I help you? I know nothing about business."

He leaned on my ear and whispered, "Kill Percy."

"W-w-what?" I stuttered. "You're gonna kill your own brother?"

"Please, Annabeth. My future depends on this." Luke said with pleading eyes. "I swear this'll be your last blow. When you're done you'll never have to live a killer again. I will provide you and Shenaree. I will help you realize your dream as an architect. Please Annabeth, please."

I thought he would even kneel. He didn't. But his eyes were pleading. For a scary moment there, I thought I was really hesitating.

Instead, I regained my composure and remained cool. "You've gotta pay me a lot for this one."

His eyes gleamed. "You're my savior, Annie!"

"So," I said, with a beam of pride. "What's the plan?"

oOo

It was dark. Luke told me that his brother would be staying at a penthouse for the night. I, once again, wore my mask. This kill would be my last, Luke swore. I wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore after I killed this Percy.

The penthouse was heavily guarded. A lot of men who looked like soldiers were guarding the gates while the others roamed around. There were security cameras all over the place.

I wasn't shocked. Luke told me about the place. He said there were even guards who were watching the whole house using the security cams.

This should be easy. I've had harder cases than this.

I was about to get ready for the action when my phone – gods, that annoying phone – rang. The guards frowned when they heard it and they scanned the surrounding.

I climbed over a tree and quickly answered the phone, but I was still looking at the penthouse in case Mr. Heir decided to take a little walk.

"Hi, this is Annabeth Chase."

"_Annabeth!" _Luke said from the other line. _"Did you kill him yet?"_

I rolled my eyes but I knew he couldn't see. "Oh, what do you think?"

"_Did you or did you not?!" _he sounded pretty tensed.

"I didn't. You just interrupted me."

"_Good!" _he said, and I narrowed my eyes. _"Annabeth, don't kill him yet. I found out that there's this seal that my step-dad gave Percy. This makes him the legal heir and that bastard's hiding it."_

"I'm listening."

"_Well, if I got this seal and Percy dies, I'd be accepted as the legal heir."_

"What if you don't have this seal thing?"

"_Then even if Percy dies, I wouldn't get the Seawater Company."_ Luke said grimly.

"What do I do now?" I asked.

He paused for awhile, then said, _"Annabeth, go under cover. Make sure he tells you where the seal is and after that…murder him."_

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed incredulously. The guards looked around again. I lowered my voice a bit. "Luke, I'm used to direct killing, not going under cover!"

"_Well, just take this as a challenge for you to know how far you can go." _He said. _"Please, Annabeth."_

"Fine." I grumbled. Why did I easily give up when it was Luke who pleaded me? "What's our new plan then?"

"I'll send you to his school – Goode High, of course." He said matter-of-factly. "And I'll be paying everything. Don't lie about your identity but never tell him you're Code Name Wise Girl. You're on your own at that point."

I hung up. I couldn't believe I would be going under cover, and going to high school wasn't on my list. I'd forgotten how to interact with students and I didn't know how to act as one.

And then I heard the guards scrambling around and I noticed that Mr. Heir Percy Jackson had come out of his shell. I couldn't clearly see his face. But I was tempted to shoot my gun at him and just end this all.

When I got a closer look, I realized that he was in no way Luke's brother (just because they weren't really blood-related). He had dazzling sea green eyes that contrast Luke's and messy dark hair and evenly tanned skin. Unlike Luke who wore branded clothes and shoes, this Percy guy wore faded jeans and a simple orange T-shirt.

The guy looked easy-going and friendly which r_eally _contrasted Luke's attitude.

I pushed the thought aside decided to walk a little when the Percy guy's car drove away. I put the gun in my backpack and buried it. I made sure the gun was the only thing I buried before going. I sent my sister a message saying I'll be with her by 10. I walked at the side of the road where I could be sure no car will hit me.

But then I suddenly felt dizzy. I stumbled over something. I lost grip on my phone and everything became blurry. I fell on my knees and finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I fell on the ground at the side of the road.

The last I saw were sea green eyes staring down at me.

And then everything went black.

**oOo**

**Whew, done! This probably sucks but that's all I can do. The real story is kinda far away so I'd be rushing the updates now. (You guys are amazing, I don't want you waiting).**

**And again, this is CodeNameWiseGirl, signing off.**

**R&amp;R!**


	5. They Meet?

**Hey, I'm back! So let's proceed to my excuse. I bet you wanna know. It's like this: my laptop was damaged. It was my fault, really. My mom and I argued and fought, so my mood wasn't that great...so I threw my laptop. I'm so bad, right? But it was repaired (don't ask me I don't know how they repaired it too) last week. The reason I didn't update was because ALL OF MY FILES weren't restored! Every important file...GONE. So I lost motivation and didn't update on purpose. But I realized that I can't live without writing, so...**

**Here I am. **

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 4**

**The Heir and Killer Meet**

**Annabeth's POV:**

_Darkness._

_Again._

_I might be in a dream because I saw myself in the dark, alone, bruised, and crying. Flashbacks came to me: Mom and Dad leaving, Aunt and Uncle treating us as slaves, Shenaree getting sick, Me killing Aunt, Luke offering me a job, and all dark stuff._

_Yeah, I'm pretty much back in the dreamland. _

_It was dark. My bare feet were touching the cold stone floor of a small, empty room. _

_People I killed over the years started coming at me. The most recent one, Mr. Smith, chuckled mischievously. "I told you we're going to hell together."_

_I backed away in fear. I knew that it was just a dream and I knew that I wasn't supposed to feel this way because I was Annabeth Everlyn Chase, top notch hard killer. But…I realized that this was the other side of me. And the other side of me was the Annabeth Chase without the covers - without the walls. The other side of me was the Annabeth Chase who was tired, tired of killing, tired of it all._

_And the usual me was the covered Annabeth - the Annabeth who thought she had no other choice but to kill._

_As my victims came towards me, I took a step backward. They murmured "Killer" and others hissed. Aunt Persephone glared at me pointedly. She hissed. "You brat. Don't you have any conscience? Killing a family member wasn't enough, eh? And now you're letting a dear friend of yours repeat history. You will let him kill his own brother? Ha! How evil of you, Annabeth Chase."_

"_Please no!" I cried. I buried my face in my hands._

_They laughed. They laughed because they saw the tough, no-conscience Annabeth Chase sobbing, begging even._

_They all closed in, but then something glowed. It radiated light that defeated the darkness around me. The ghosts wailed and screamed and then they faded._

_Now it wasn't dark anymore. In fact, I was in whiteness. _

"_Hey, Wise Girl." The glowing thing said. I couldn't see the owner of that voice because of the light surrounding it. I could barely look._

_He touched my face and I kind of liked it. The warmth of his hand comforted me. _

_He brushed his thumb on my eye to wipe the tears. It was a gentle touch._

_Had I ever felt this way before?_

"_Why didn't you fight?" the voice asked softly. "You are a fighter, aren't you?"_

"_I was scared." I replied, which surprised my sub-conscious because I had never felt scared. "And I'm not a fighter." I hear myself saying. "I'm a killer."_

_The glowing thing extended his arms and gave me an embrace. I buried my head on his shoulder and he gently ran his hand down on my blond curls._

_He was warm._

_And for the first time, I'd felt warmth._

"_Don't be scared, Annabeth." He said. He pulled away and cupped my chin. And then I saw his eyes: they were dazzling sea green. Although I couldn't see his face, I saw his eyes. Those eyes met mine. Storm and sea, the perfect match._

_Those beautiful eyes were gentle. Not intimidating nor piercing. _

_They were just…._

_Gentle._

_And then he said, "I'll protect you forever."_

* * *

I woke up with my eyes half-closed. My surrounding was still a blur. And there was someone standing beside me but I couldn't make out his appearance.

I was still dazed.

"Miss, are you awake?" the person beside me asked. "Can you hear me?"

I looked at him weakly, and my eyes rolled back in my head and I black out again.

* * *

**Percy's POV:**

The car drove away.

Truthfully, I hated being followed by these guards. My Dad feared that he might "lose the legal heir of Seawater Company" so he gave away a huge amount of money to hire the guards.

I sighed, peering over the car window. The car was moving slowly because of traffic. It should have been better to walk.

I happened to see a blonde haired girl walking at the side of the road, holding a phone.

Her honey blonde curls were tied back in a messy ponytail. She wore jeans and a gray sweatshirt. Those were the only things I noticed because the car had already moved.

And then I looked at the rear view mirror and saw the girl on her knees.

"Stop." I told the driver.

"But, Sir – ''

"Stop the car, Tyson."

He did. I ran towards the girl and saw her eyes already closing. I saw a phone beside her and I picked it up and shoved it in her pocket. And then she blacked out. I slapped her cheeks slightly. "Miss, Miss, wake up!"

She didn't respond.

This time, I shook her shoulders. "Miss! Miss!"

When there wasn't a response, I carried her bridal style and put her inside the car. Tyson and the guards stared at me quizzically.

"Do you know her, Sir?" Tyson asked.

"I don't."

They raised their eyebrows but didn't say a word.

"Take us to the hospital." I said.

On the way, I looked back at the blonde. She had this deep tan that matched her blonde hair. She reminded me of the Californian girls I saw when I was in…well, when I was in California, of course.

I knew that if I brought this stranger to the hospital, I would be late for our family dinner. But I didn't care at all. Dad will just talk about business again, anyway.

I didn't want anything to do with Seawater, honestly. I wanted to be a marine biologist. But when I told Dad about that, he yelled at me saying I couldn't do anything about his decision because it wouldn't change.

I rested my head on the car window. And I let my thoughts flow.

**Annabeth's POV:**

I had woken up, finally. My eyes adjusted to my surrounding. I could see the sunlight trying to pass through the tinted window. My eyebrows cocked.

Where was I?

I tried to sit up. With a groan, I succeeded. I was in a room that smelled of alcohol and some scent I didn't recognize. I realized that I was wearing hospital clothes.

Where was I again?

And my hair was loose. What had happened?

All the questions made me dizzy again. I tried not to think too much.

And then someone opened the door. My eyes narrowed at the guy who came in. He had mesmerizing sea green eyes (though I tried to avoid the mesmerizing thingy) and raven hair. He was holding a tray of food on his hands. He walked up to me, and placed the tray on the bed side table.

He smiled upon seeing me. "I see. You're awake now. That's good news."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well, I have no idea, too." He replied, his smile not fading. "But you blacked out on the road, and I brought you here."

"When did it happen?"

The green eyed boy handed me a cookie. I reluctantly took it.

"Last night," he said. "Now, eat. You need to regain your strength."

I looked at the cookie wistfully. The smell reminded me of my Mom's home-made cookies that would fill the morning air with sweet scent.

I took a cautious bite, and suddenly, I found myself eating everything. It felt good.

The boy beside me smirked. "Is it good?"

I nodded. He gave me another one. After I ate it, he gave me hot chocolate. I brought the cup to my lips. Wow, I had never drunk something so good, something so warm.

"Is it good?" the boy asked again.

"Yes." I replied in a small voice. "Of course it is."

I drank everything and put the cup back to the tray.

That's when my eyes narrowed. I looked back at the guy, who was smiling softly at me.

"Who are you? Why did you bring me here?"

He seemed taken aback by the question. But he just smiled again. "I kind of have a habit on helping people. And uh, I'm Percy Jackson. But you can call me Percy."

"Percy Jackson…?"

The name sounded so familiar. I was known for my good memory, so why was I forgetting this small detail?

Then it dawned on me…

Percy Jackson…

Percy Jackson…

Percy Jackson…

I almost threw up. I stared at him in horror. He gave me a look of confusion.

"What?" he said.

I blinked many times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

I wasn't.

How in Hades' name did he find me? I thought I let his car drive before I go. I made sure of that.

What was happening?

This wasn't on the plan. What if Luke found out?

Percy guy snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Hey, you still alive?"

I blinked again. "O-oh, yeah, sorry."

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Annabeth."

"Well, nice meetin' you, Annabeth." He shot me a lopsided grin that I easily found annoying.

But instead of telling him that, I just gave him my warmest smile (though maybe it didn't work). "Nice meeting you, too, Percy."

"How old are you?" he asked.

"18."

His sea green eyes twinkled. "Same here."

Then he went on asking questions like: Where do you live? What school are you going to? (I had to use Shenaree's school for that one)

I on the other hand, needn't ask any questions. I knew him. He was Luke Castellan's brother, Perseus Jackson, heir of Seawater Company.

And Annabeth Everlyn Chase's next target.

There was a ringing sound so the guy had to excuse himself. He disappeared from the room.

I exhaled. I quickly opened my phone to check things out. I was so relieved that I had put a password so that secrets were kept. When I checked the messages I almost fell. There were 15 text messages. 5 from Shenaree, 5 from Phoebe, 5 from Luke.

I read Shenaree's messages first:

1\. _Hey, Annie._

_I know you're busy but I think you're forgetting that you've got a sick sister at home. You promised me that we'll eat at a fine restaurant yesterday but you didn't come. I waited but you didn't come._

_2\. Annie_

_You said you'll be home by 10. Where are you?_

_3\. Sis,_

_If Luke is making you work overtime, tell me. I know that he let you work in his cafe and we owe him but if he's abusing you, then tell me. I'll kill him myself._

_4\. Annie!_

_Did you forget that you have a sister waiting? At least reply!_

The next message wasn't from Shenaree, it was from Phoebe.

First: _Codename Wise Girl, we'll be off on a mission, wish us luck._

_Second: Hey, Luke's waiting for report._

_Third: Annie, we're off. Pray that I'll be back alive. Haha._

_Fourth: We're close. Gang is preparing._

_Fifth: We're here. Attack on JADE Enterprises' President: ready._

Next were from Luke.

_1\. Waiting for report. Go to the gang's hideout._

_2\. Annabeth, where are you?_

_3\. Hey, at least tell me what happened._

_4\. If it's Shenaree again, then I'll be waiting._

_5\. I sent Phoebe and the gang on a mission without you. You've got your own mission. Let's talk. See you in the hideout._

I was about to read Shen's last message when Percy came back. His fists were clenched when he got inside but they calmed when he noticed me staring.

"Umm..." I started. "Is everything cool?"

He grinned. "Yeah. But I missed our family dinner so I've got to explain to Dad."

I looked down. "Oh. Sorry." But I wasn't particularly sorry.

"Okay, so just stay here. I'll be back."

"No." I said quickly. "I mean, I feel alright now. I want to go home. My sister is waiting for me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." I replied.

He smiled a little and helped me up. "Then let's go."

Percy helped me stand. I still couldn't believe that my target was right in front of me, helping me.

After I got ready, he signed as my guardian (seriously) and he led me out of the hospital.

His black car was waiting for him. Percy turned to me before going inside.

"Hey, Annabeth. I can drive you home." He said. "You want to?"

I shook my head. "I've bothered you enough. I can go on my own. And hey, uh, thanks for taking care of a stranger."

"Hey, no problem. So, I'll be going now."

"Yeah."

A man opened the car door for him. He waved goodbye while I stood there. I knew in myself that I would be seeing him again for a mission, that's why I smirked.

"Is this fate?" I muttered to myself. How lucky of me to have met my target earlier than expected. Now, we would have some sort of connection.

Now, I know what you're thinking. _Annabeth has no conscience. The Percy guy helped her but she still thought of bad things about him._

Yeah, maybe you're right.

But this was my job, and even if he helped me a thousand times, I would never waver.

Oh, I should have known then that I was wrong…

**oOo**

**Okay, done! I know that you expected more than that but I really am having a tough week and I guess the next few chapters would be just like this. A reminder…Annabeth dreamed of a "glowing thing" right? When she woke up, she has forgotten all about it. And Percy's POV is a flashback of how he found Annabeth. **

**Guys, do you know that you make my day? I can't thank you enough for supporting Code Name: Wise Girl. I would like to thank you all for getting me 2100 views with just 4 chapters and an A/N.**

**I would like to thank everyone who reviewed and waited!Those who followed and favorited are awesome, too! And I would like to say sorry because I updated late...and I mean late.**

**The next chappy will be a filler. You know, fan fictions go through that. But the meat of this story will come soon. I've got big (and bloody) plans for this fic.**

**So...**

**See yah next chapter!**

**This is CodeNameWiseGirl,**

**Signing off for today.**


	6. Destined

**Oh gods, I can't say anything anymore...If you want to know my excuse then please read the A/N at the end of the chapter. This chapter is not even on the plan. Honest. So this might not be what you expected (yes, I have that low of a confidence but that's because of WRITER'S BLOCK). **

**Please read.**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 5**

**Destined **

**Percy's POV:**

They just didn't understand.

After the hospital, I headed home. Okay, so I wasn't really expecting my Dad to greet me good morning or something like that but I was expecting him to at least understand me.

When I got back home, he had screamed at me, saying I disappointed him. I thought, really, I just missed one family dinner and I'm a disappointment. Other than that, I always followed him.

How could he even say that to me?

Why didn't he understand that I was also going through a hard time? Why did he push me on something I never really liked?

It was my Dad who decided everything in my life. It's like it's not my life anymore.

So before he could say more I stormed out of the dining room and crashed on my bed.

Step-mom came in.

"Dear, may I sit with you?"

I didn't want to talk to anyone today but of course I wouldn't say that. "Of course, Mom." I said.

She sat beside me on the bed. "Are you upset?" she asked, her ocean blue eyes gentle.

"Do I even have the right to?"

She ruffled my hair and smiled. "Everyone can be upset, Percy. It's a natural feeling. May I know the reason why you weren't able to attend the family dinner last night? I think there's something." I stared at her, confused. "Your dad didn't even ask you why. So I will be the one to do that."

I sighed, and then looked down on my hands. "I was supposed to attend last night but I saw a girl collapse on the road. I mean, not that I know her, but my conscience wouldn't take it. And besides, what if someone tries to do something bad?"

"I knew it. Of course you are that kind of boy."

I nodded slightly. "Thanks, Mom."

"Percy," she said softly. "Your dad is just upset because you didn't show up last night. Your dad was expecting you. Did you know that your fiancée, Rachel, brought her family over? They expected you to be there. But they went home disappointed."

"Is Rachel mad?" I asked. Even though I never really liked the idea of me and Rachel getting married, I still cared for the girl. She was my friend, until Dad decided that we were 'soul mates' and engaged us off.

May smiled. "She wasn't, dear. Just upset. But not mad."

"Good."

"Mr. Dare is our biggest investor." She explained. "We can't lose him."

My eyebrows cocked. "So Dad did this just so he can't lose Mr. Dare?"

Step-Mom giggled. "No. Poseidon really thought you like Rachel."

"I do, Mom." I said. "But only as a friend."

Rachel wasn't bad. In fact, she was a kind girl. I could always rely on her. She was an aspiring artist. People loved her and sought advice from her.

My step-mom patted my shoulder. "Do you want to inherit Seawater, Percy?"

"You know full well that I don't, Mom."

"Then achieve your dreams. You can."

I laughed. "It's not like I could defy Dad."

Yeah, he didn't understand because he didn't have time to. Or maybe he was just too stubborn. Or maybe he just didn't care about me at all.

I bet it was the latter.

"Oh, dear, I have to go." Step-Mom said. "I've got an appointment with Mr. Kelley."

"Where are you going to meet?" I asked. "I will drive you there."

She smiled. "Will you? It will be in Redstone's. It's a restaurant near Olympus Grand Apartment. You remember that place?" I nodded. And so I grabbed my coat and drove Tyson's black car. Olympus Grand Apartment was one of the properties of my uncle, Zeus. The apartment was gorgeous, of course. Zeus wanted the finest. And through the help of his wife, Hera, had accomplished it.

The apartment was near Redstone's. It was a restaurant owned by my dad's sister, Hestia. The place wasn't like any restaurant in the world.

When I met my relatives I immediately knew that all of us were born into wealth. Everyone who came into the family must be rich people. Even my step-mom was rich, too. My mom, Sally Jackson, was an heiress. My Dad told me once when I was a kid that even our ancestors were that way, too. They all had to be rich and marry rich people. Dad also said that no "commoner" can come into the family, so he reminded me that I couldn't break that rule. Maybe that was why he decided to control my life and engaged me to Rachel…because he was afraid that I would break that rule.

I stopped the car and led my step mother out. She smiled. "Thank you."

"I'll just walk around." I said. "Call me when you're done, Mom."

"Of course."

She walked inside Redstone's and I wandered around.

**Annabeth's POV:**

Shenaree's last message said that she was going out for a walk so I shouldn't worry about her. I wanted to go back home and check up on her but I remembered that Luke wanted me to report to him. So I headed to the gang's hideout.

I, once again, was facing the cold, metallic doors of the hideout. I knocked and they opened.

Luke sat on the couch, watching a baseball game. He noticed me so he turned the television off. He motioned for me to sit beside him. And so I did.

"So…" he started, propping his feet on the table. "What happened to you?"

I cleared my throat and told him the story. When I finished, he just nodded. He wasn't that surprised at all.

"That bastard didn't go to the family dinner just so he could help you." He said. "And I was supposed to believe that? He just really didn't want to go."

I smirked. "You're right. But why did you cancel the operation? If you had let me kill him that night then maybe it's all over and you will be inheriting Seawater Company."

"I told you already, Annie." Luke said, frowning. "Percy has the seal. That seal proves that he gets the company."

"But if he's dead then there is no choice but to make you heir, right?"

Luke shook his head. "No, Annie. Even if he's dead, no one could be marked as heir unless the seal is found. Whoever gets that seal should be heir. That is the rule."

I sighed. "Why did you even get to a family with such complicated rules?"

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. Mom's fault, I guess." He hesitated. "No, it's Dad's fault – I mean, my real dad."

I nodded. If I said otherwise, then I would be lying. I've met Percy Jackson. He wasn't that bad, alright, but he looked so carefree like he had no problem at all and that made me want to punch his face. How could he be happy, when so many of us in this world were suffering?

How can he get everything and not even want a single one of it, when some of us had nothing?

But his gentle sea green eyes…

How could I not forget about them?

I pushed the thoughts away and turned to Luke. "When should I go to Goode High?"

"Just rest for a bit." He said. "Wait until Phoebe comes back."

"About that…what happened to them?"

He shook his head. "No idea. I've been waiting for report from Mad Amy but she wasn't contacting me. JADE Enterprises' president must be a tough one."

"Why do you want to kill him?" I asked.

Luke chuckled, but he didn't sound happy. "He threatens Poseidon every now and then. He tells him that if I don't marry his daughter, who is actually head-over-heels in love with me, he would make up stories and destroy dad."

I snickered. "You want to kill him for that?"

"He didn't know how crazy I am." Luke shrugged. "I kill for small reasons. And plus, his daughter is very annoying. But I can't kill her because she is an innocent girl after all."

I grinned. "I didn't know that Lucas Devon Castellan still has a heart."

His mouth twisted into a sneer. "Shut up, Annabeth." He growled.

"And you've got to pay me boatloads of money for my new mission, 'kay?" I said. "I'm going undercover just for it."

He nodded. "It's a deal. So go now, Annie."

**Percy's POV:**

Getting fresh air was a good idea.

Not that New York air was ever fresh.

But there was something about the place not my home that comforted me. At home, I was like in prison. It felt like someone had chained me up there so I cannot escape.

Around this place I was free. I felt…_me. _If that even made sense.

I walked past different people. They were different people who had different ages and had different stories. Some of them, I noticed, were happy looking people who seemed to own the world. But there was something. They all had problems. And I had many.

How could Dad not realize this?

Something caught my attention. It made me forget what I was thinking. It was a girl with golden, straight hair and deep grey eyes, which kind of looked familiar.

She was staring intently at the ice cream shop. I walked up to her.

"Hey, you like that?" I asked.

The girl scowled. "Who are you, mister?" she demanded.

"A fairy godmother." I winked at her. "So, tell me, do you want to eat ice cream with me?"

She smirked. "Are you crazy? Why would I go with a stranger? What if you're trying to kidnap me? Huh, I'm not that easy, mister."

I smiled. "Fairy godmothers don't kidnap their Cinderella."

The blonde's eyes narrowed. "Am I your Cinderella?"

"You are."

"Why me?"

"Well, I want to eat ice cream, too." I said. "But I want to eat with someone."

The girl showed her hand. "How much do you have?"

"A thousand dollar."

She rolled her stormy grey eyes. "Don't joke. How much do you have for real?"

"I'm not joking." I took out my pocket and showed her. She couldn't believe it at first, but then she said, "Come on. It's your treat, okay?"

I nodded and we both opened the door to the shop.

A strawberry ice cream sat in front of the girl while I had a vanilla one. We had a table for two.

"So, do you normally treat strangers ice cream?"

I shrugged. "Well it's a disease of mine."

"My sister doesn't want me to eat ice cream."

"Why?"

She shook her head. "No idea why. She's just paranoid because I've got cancer."

My eyes widened. "C-cancer?"

"Are you regretting that you have met me now?"

"I-I don't…" I stuttered. My real mother died of cancer. And now, I met a girl who looked younger than me who had cancer. She didn't deserve it. I knew that in my heart.

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Fifteen." She answered, which shocked me. "Huh, I guess you're thinking of what to bring on my funeral already."

I waved my hands in protest. "I don't! I'm not that kind of person!"

"So…what? You pity me? People who learned about my condition always did that."

"No." I said in all seriousness. "I just make people smile than pity them."

She looked at me suspiciously. "Am I in some kind of game show here?" she asked. "Are you an actor or something?"

I laughed. "No. I'm just me."

"What's your name?" the girl asked. "I mean, you treated me so I guess we have to know each other's names."

"It's Percy."

She nodded. "That's like a name for girls…" she muttered.

A smile formed on my lips. "Many people had told me the same thing, too."

"Hm, by the way, my name's Shenaree."

"Shenaree?" I stared at the blonde. "That's not common at all. It's the first time I've heard that name."

She shrugged. "It's kind of a unique name, I guess."

"It sure is."

Shenaree swallowed. She looked behind me, and I can also feel that presence.

"And Shenaree Chase…" a girl's voice started. "What are you doing here?"

**Annabeth's POV:**

I saw my sister with some guy whose face I couldn't see eating ice cream in the ice cream shop near Olympus Grand. I fumed. I already told her that ice cream was bad.

When my sister saw me, she swallowed hard.

"And Shenaree Chase…" I started, making her nervous. "What are you doing here?"

"A-Annabeth!"

The guy with Shen turned, and the first I noticed was….dazzling sea green eyes.

I stumbled. It was Luke's brother, Percy Jackson! Why was he with my sister? Why was he even here?

He also seemed to recognize me… "Annabeth Chase?"

I sucked in a breath. "P-Percy Jackson, r-right? You were the person who brought me to the hospital! What are you doing here?"

"I was just walking around!" he said, also surprised. "Sit here!"

I sat next to my sister.

Shenaree looked confused. "Do you know each other?"

I nodded. And then I told her about my passing out and Percy bringing me to the hospital.

"So she is your sister?" Percy asked. "That's why she looked familiar."

"How did you know my sister?" I asked him.

Shenaree crossed her arms over her chest. Instead of the green eyed boy, she answered my question. She told me the story and when she had finished, I just nodded.

"Thanks for treating her." I said.

"Nah, it's alright." He waved his hand dismissively. "Where do you live?"

"Olympus Grand Apartment."

Percy raised a brow. He must've thought that Shenaree and I were rich kids like him. But then again, Olympus Grand was a place for the rich.

New York was so big, I thought, how come he decided to 'take a walk' here?

Percy Jackson smiled. And I, Annabeth Everlyn Chase, felt something weird in me…

His smile was…

Dazzling.

"A…Annabeth?"

Shenaree paled. Her face was tight, like she was in pain.

"Shen? What's happening? Are you alright?"

"Annie…"

She fell out of her seat. The crashing sound made people look at us.

"S-Shenaree? Open your eyes, Shenaree!"

Percy carried my sister on his back. "Call an ambulance, Annabeth!" he said.

With my hands shaking, I took out the phone from my pocket. "911…my sister blacked out…yes…yes, she needs to be brought to the hospital, damn it!"

An ambulance arrived.

They brought Shenaree inside and before I went in with her, I turned to Percy. "You may go now. Thanks again for the help."

"But – ''

"Thanks. Goodbye."

I ran towards the ambulance and left Percy Jackson…

But in myself, it wasn't the end. We would still meet.

And I wasn't too excited about it.

* * *

**Ahhhh...please...I didn't get to update faster because when I was typing the first word of the fifth chapter, I suddenly hit a block! Imagine that, typing just the first word and you had writer's block. Gods, that was awful. So this chapter must be awful too... Eek! **

**I still am suffering from that stupid block but I don't want to leave this for long so I updated even though this really wasn't in my plan...oh gods, that stung to admit...**

**Please forgive me!**

**CNWG.**


	7. Fireflies

**Oh gods…that feeling when you are typing your next chapter and then suddenly you stare at thin air and then when you've snapped out of it you realize you've been gone for an hour and still wasn't typing anything yet? That's what happened to me. Writer's block is killing me now. Yes, I still have it. **

**So I guess updates would be slower.**

**Anyways, thanks to michaelaanneschultz, CanwejustTALKaboutbooks, musicfire (Guest) and another Guest for reviewing!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 6**

**Fireflies**

**Percy's POV:**

I wasn't the kind of person who would just stand there and do nothing so I took the car and followed the ambulance. _Cancer. _How can a young lady have that kind of illness? It wasn't right. Shenaree didn't deserve it. _No one _deserved it.

_My sweet boy, don't get involved in their world…don't let them know._

Those were my mother's last words. She couldn't even say her last 'I love you' to me. I wouldn't let the same thing happen to that girl.

I arrived at the hospital. Annabeth was standing still at the corner of the room, her thoughts deep. She didn't even bat an eye when I entered.

"Um…hey?" I said, while slowly walking towards the blonde.

She looked up at me, and then snorted. "I thought I told you not to go with me anymore."

"I didn't go with you, did I?" I said sarcastically. "I just kind of followed you."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. I knew that there was something about her. Looking at her reminded me of the stars. No matter how dark the night was, the stars still shone. Just like her.

"Don't worry. The doctor said Shen will be fine." Annabeth said with a smile. She grabbed her coat from the seat and pulled her golden curls back into a messy ponytail. "My sister had blacked out many times before. I guess I shouldn't be worrying, but then again, I guess I should."

"It's normal to get worried."

"I'm not normal." the blonde chuckled lightly. "I don't even let my sister eat ice cream. I'm paranoid. But I should be. She's the only family I have left. If I lose her, then I might as well die, too."

"Where are your parents?" I asked. It was a pathetic question and I knew that. It must be hard for her to talk about it, especially to a person whom she just met.

"Well, they left. But I couldn't care less about them." She said. She tried to make it sound ridiculous, but in the end, it was bitter. Her words were venom.

I looked back at the girl lying on the bed, and then I looked back at Annabeth. Those two girls reminded me of how lucky I was since I have got a father, a brother, and a mother – even though she wasn't my real mother.

I always thought that I was pitiful, that people should have noticed that I wasn't living the way they thought I did.

But then, how could they? I was an heir to the most successful company in America. I had a family. I go to an elite school. I had many friends. My relatives were all wealthy people. I had cool cousins and a rich and pretty fiancée. So, how could they? How could they think that I was pitiful when a lot of other people were not as fortunate as me? Maybe it was just me who thought that I was pitiful.

It was just me after all.

"Percy? Percy?" Annabeth's voice broke my thoughts. I looked up, and her eyes met mine.

Storm and sea.

"Percy, are you alright?"

I shot her my ever-present smile – that smile that had been deceiving everyone for the last ten years.

"I'm fine." I lied. "Hey, can I stay here and watch over Shenaree, too?"

The blonde's eyes widened. "Percy, you have done so much for us already. We didn't even know each other until yesterday."

"I know that." I said, shooting her a pleasant smile. "But it's kind of boring at home, so I want to stay somewhere and do something or else I'll go crazy."

It wasn't all lie. I _did _want to escape that house as long as there was a chance to do so.

She looked at me like she knew something I didn't.

I stared at the way her eyes wandered around the room. But my staring was interrupted when my phone buzzed.

I brought the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"_Percy, where are you?" _ my step-mom asked. _"We're done here."_

Gods, I thought, how did I forget about that?

"Mom, I'm so sorry." I said. "Can you just go on your own? Something came up."

I heard her chuckle on the other line. _"Are you as busy as Luke is now, dear_? _Fine. I'll go on my own."_

"Thanks, Mom. And sorry again."

"_Oh, it's nothing."_

We both said goodbye and ended the call.

"Who was that?" Annabeth asked.

"My mom." I replied.

The blonde didn't say anything. She just handed me a cup of coffee and sat beside me.

"Thanks." I told her.

We drank in silence. It was kind of an uncomfortable silence. I didn't really know what else to say because I _barely _knew her. But ever since we've met, I felt like I needed to take care of her, if that made sense. And now that I knew she and her sister had no parents, I felt like I needed to take responsibility.

Annabeth cleared her throat. "Um, so, uh, we meet again."

I laughed. "Yeah."

She looked down on her hands. "You really are going to stay here?"

"Unless you don't want me to." I said. "I mean, of course you don't. I'm a complete stranger."

She gave me a half-smile. "Well, you aren't a _complete _stranger. When you brought me to the hospital that night, I was the complete stranger, and you didn't hesitate bringing me there, despite not knowing who I really am and where I came from."

"Um, well…."

"Stay here if you want." She said, hesitation laced in her voice. "Um, I'll just call Shen's friend to say she can't go to school tomorrow. Can you please watch over her?"

I nodded. "Sure."

She thanked me and left the room.

* * *

**Annabeth's POV:**

I left the room and hurriedly went to the hospital's rooftop. Yes, it had a rooftop. Maybe it was for patients who wanted to breathe outside air (because I'm telling you, hospital air is suffocating).

Anyways, I was on the rooftop. No one was there so I immediately dialed Luke's number.

"_Hello?" _Luke greeted from the other line. _"This is Luke Castellan."_

"I know." I said.

I heard him snort. _"Yeah, Annie. What is it? Dad told me to take care of some papers. I've got to do it all, so make it fast. I'm busy."_

I rolled my eyes. "Well, here goes the very obedient son." He snickered. "And besides, aren't you always busy? There's Seawater, school, and…" I lowered my voice. "Gang."

Luke coughed. _"Yeah, yeah. So, Annie, what is it?"_

I looked around to make sure no one would hear me. "Luke, your brother is with _me _in the hospital."

"_What?!"_

"Gods, Luke, he _is _planning to stay here." I said. Percy couldn't stay with me. To be honest, I felt uncomfortable being with him. "He had talked with Shenaree without knowing she is my sister! And then Shen collapsed and, Percy _followed _us…"

"_Well, isn't that fate…" _ Luke didn't sound enthusiastic. _"But well, let him stay there. Just get close to him, so when you go to Goode High, there'd be some sort of connection between you two. This will make things easier for us, Annabeth."_

"And meanwhile you're trying to get the favor of your dad." I said.

"_I'm sorry, Annie." _He said. _"But I can't make him leave. This is good luck for us."_

I sighed. "Alright. Gods, this is awful."

"_Annabeth…" _Luke's tone became dead serious. _"That guy's not that dumb as he may seem. He may notice something. Be careful."_

"I will. Bye." I clicked the end button.

I sent a message to my sister's friend, Katie, saying she wouldn't be going to school tomorrow.

And then I walked back to the room. But before I opened the door, I stopped. I heard two people talking. One was a girl, which I knew was Shenaree, and one was a guy, which was Percy Jackson. My sister must have woken up already. I heard the two laughing that I guessed they were doubling over.

I turned the knob and the door opened.

And indeed, they were _doubling _over.

When I entered, the two stopped laughing and Shenaree stared at me. She pouted as if she was disappointed that I even came.

"Having fun without me?" I said. I turned to Shen. "You just woke and you're now having fun? Gods, you don't seem like a cancer patient, Shenaree Chase."

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. "Well, Annie, if you're a cancer patient, would _you _want to seem like one? Of courseee, you won't! You would want to go all crazy and do what you want to do in your life because you don't know, maybe tomorrow's the day you'll die. I even collapse without warning."

I rolled my eyes at her. Percy looked back and forth at us.

"Are you really sisters?" he asked.

"Oh no, I think Annabeth's adopted." Shenaree said sarcastically.

"Shut up."

The raven haired guy laughed. I still couldn't believe how close he got to my sister when they met only a few hours ago.

And then I thought, was he close to Luke?

Of course Luke hated his brother. But did Percy hate Luke?

I decided to entertain my curiosity.

"Do you have a sibling, Percy?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. But I had to start somewhere to get to my real question.

"Well, I would definitely love it if he had a younger brother." Shenaree said, a dreamy look on her face.

"I have a brother my age." Percy answered.

I raised a brow. "Your age? I mean, a twin?"

Shenaree squealed in delight. "A twin is better! Aw! If Percy has a twin similar to his looks and attitude, let me meet him!"

I glared at her. "Shut up, sissy. You're just 15, and the twin brother should be 18, too, like Percy."

Percy flashed me and my sister a grin. "He's not exactly my twin. It's a long story. But yeah, he's my brother and his name is Luke."

My sister frowned. "Luke…? I think I know someone – ''

"Really?" I said, interrupting Shenaree. "That's cool."

"Well, we're not that close." The guy said. "He's a busy one."

"Do you, like, hate each other?" Shen asked. Right, I thought, my sister asked for me.

He shrugged. "I don't know about him, but I don't bare such feeling. He's my brother after all."

No one spoke.

I clutched my phone tightly, observing the green eyed guy. He seemed honest about what he said. And then I wondered if I could do it. If I could actually kill him.

But then again, _those _thoughts came back: _You wouldn't survive._

And I had to go back to thinking that I needed to kill him.

"Do you want to see fireflies?" Percy asked out of nowhere, breaking the silence.

I looked at him, confused. "Fireflies?"

He nodded. "Yeah, fireflies. My cousins and I used to go to rooftops every night to see fireflies. There are many near Olympus Grand Apartment."

"You've been there?" Shen asked.

"Yes." He replied. "A cousin of mine knows the owner. Many fireflies appear on rooftops around that place during the night." He frowned, as if trying to remember a distant memory.

Percy then looked at me. "Is it okay for your sister to go out?"

"Fireflies sound great." Shenaree said. "But I don't feel like going somewhere tonight. You two go. And, Annie, next time, let's go to Olympus Grand's rooftop and watch some fireflies."

* * *

**Percy's POV:**

We decided to just go to Olympus Grand's rooftop.

The stars shone brightly, and the moon provided us light.

Annabeth and I sat on a bench and waited for the fireflies to start gathering. I could hear cars honking, people bustling, making New York streets noisy again. But then, New York was never silent, not for a second. It would never be silent.

But here on the rooftop, childhood memories started flooding back, invading my mind. I could see glittering buildings from here, and even though the night air was cold, it still gave a comfortable feeling.

Something started to glow – or somethings. No, they were fireflies. There were too many. They seemed to dance for us. They weren't this many when I last visited here (which was two years ago, I think).

Annabeth's eyes widened in amazement. Her brilliant grey eyes watched every firefly move around.

I remembered my mom on her. My mom, Sally Jackson, had the same expression whenever she saw those fireflies. She also watched everything as if she was afraid one minute they will be gone.

"It's…it's beautiful." Annabeth muttered. "I wish Shenaree could see this. She'll regret not coming with us." She turned to me. "I have lived here for four years and I didn't know there was something like this here. Maybe I am too busy…"

I smiled. "Now you know. This is great right?"

"Yeah, it is." She said. "Gods, this is wonderful."

We both watched the glowing creatures. Memories…

_Percy, you can't let them know._

* * *

"Annabeth, Phoebe came back. And like what I said, when she comes back, you have to start your mission in Goode High. Code Name Wise Girl, your next mission starts tomorrow."

xoxoxo

**Hello, people! Right, right. So I didn't update for long and this is another filler chapter. Yeah. But this gave us a hint of Percy's past. What do you think is his mother's secret, that "you can't let them know"? Have any idea? Review to let me know! And uh, I've got a Tumblr for this fanfic, so please follow me! Or visit it or anything! I would love it. The link's on my profile, please check it out!**

**CNWG, signing off.**


	8. Annabeth Goes to Goode

**Hello guys! This is an update, I swear. And this time, Annabeth Goes to Goode! I want to thank michaelaanneschultz, greekgeekgirlbro, The Blue Warrior (Guest), CatsRCute (Guest), and Silverwolf7579 for reviewing! Also thanks to those who followed and favorited!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 7**

**Annabeth Goes to Goode**

**Annabeth's POV:**

BRING! BRIIINGGGG!

I woke up with the sound of the alarm clock. I rubbed my eyes before turning off the alarm. 6:30, alright. Luke told me that class didn't start until eight. I've got lots of time. I got up and bathed quickly. I still had to check up on Shenaree since she still was in the hospital.

I opened the closet and searched for something to wear.

Before I could wear something on, my phone buzzed. I took it and saw that Luke texted me.

Luke – _Hey, Annabeth. In case you forgot, you have to go and get your locker combo and class schedule. And then start searching for that dumbass._

I huffed and threw the phone on the bed. He really thought I forgot how student life worked, huh?

Finally, I decided to wear tight jeans and a grey shirt. I tied my hair in a messy ponytail and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

I sucked in a breath and started to walk out of the house.

I felt like a first timer. After years of just working I felt like a middle aged woman instead of a teenage girl in her senior year.

I checked the time using the wristwatch that Luke gave me. 7:15.

It was still early so I went to Shen's hospital first. I got to her room and there I found my sister talking with Artemis Moon, the doctor assigned to Shenaree. She volunteered to be our doctor without any payment and I didn't know why. She just always looked at us like she knew us.

"Hey, Shen, hello, Doctor Moon." I greeted.

"Annie!" Shenaree exclaimed. "How was the firefly watching last night?"

I stared at her, the words slowly registering in my mind.

"Annie?"

I snapped out of it. "Uh, um…it was beautiful. It was great. You should have seen it."

"What happened to Percy?" she asked.

Oh, right. Percy Jackson.

"He went home after that." I replied uncertainly. I asked myself again why I was uncomfortable with him. I thought it was because he was my new target and then he was so kind to me and my sister.

"Was he happy?" Shenaree asked again. There was a gleam in her eyes.

I frowned, trying to remember. _I'll be going, Annabeth. _"Yeah." I lied. "He was so happy."

Truth was, I couldn't really decipher his expression that night. It was like he was happy yet at the same time sad. But of course if I said that to my sister she would be worried. Percy and her were like, BFFs, even though they only met yesterday.

Artemis noticed my outfit. "Are you going to school?" she asked with a smile.

I nodded. "Yeah, my boss told me to continue my studies."

The doctor smiled. "He's so kind, then."

I snorted. They really thought that I worked in a café owned by Luke, huh? Shenaree looked slightly confused. "Annie? You're going to high school? Did Luke tell you that?"

"Well, I was surprised, too." I lied. "I didn't expect him to do that."

Artemis' arms were crossed. "You look like a normal girl now, Annabeth." She teased. I glared at her.

"I am a normal girl!" I insisted.

Shenaree rolled her eyes. "Well you're not. By the way, are you going to my school?"

"No. I'm going to Goode High."

She gasped. "What?! Really, Annie? Luke sent you to the prestigious, elite school Goode High?! Oh my gods!"

I stuck my tongue out at her. "Believe it or not, sis, it's true."

"Still, I'm smarter than you are." She said. "I bet your smarty brain turned rusty because you were away from school for a long time."

"Let's see."

"Go now, then, Annabeth." Artemis said, her smile not fading. "You will be late."

I gave a small nod and then waved goodbye. I was about to hail a cab when a red convertible stopped in front of me. The driver wore Ray-Ban. Her brown hair flew with the wind.

"Hey, CN!" the girl called. "Hop on!"

My jaw dropped. "Phoebe?"

Phoebe pouted. "And now you don't recognize me. Annie, I'm upset!"

She took her Ray-Ban off and spitted her gum out. "Luke told me to take you to school with this baby. Said it's an important day. So, if you're not riding, I'll take this back."

"I didn't say that!" I laughed. "I didn't know Luke would do this kind of thing."

I rode the convertible while Phoebe drove.

There was an eerie silence between us so I decided to strike up a conversation.

"Hey," I started. My friend flinched. "How did your mission go?"

She sighed. "It was alright. But…" Her eyes suddenly watered. "Luke probably didn't tell you. We arrived last night so yeah."

"What happened?"

"We didn't really expect that JADE's owner would have so many skilled bodyguards with him." Phoebe said. She looked like she didn't want to talk about it, but she did it anyway. "We launched an attack and…it wasn't good. Many died, Annie. Only six of us survived and killed the President of JADE."

I looked at the lines on my palm. "What did Luke say when you arrived?"

The brunette sadly smiled. "You know, Annabeth. Sometimes I think Luke is over all bad but sometimes I think he's not. Now I know that he's not. He cares for his mates, too. I realized that it was the lack of love and attention that made him like this."

The convertible went faster. I could see Phoebe's wistful expression. She needed to cry but she couldn't. We, hit men of Luke Castellan, knew that this could happen before we even joined. It was explained to us that death is only natural for Luke's servants. But we had been together through thick and thin and considered each other as siblings. We were a family.

"I'm sorry."

"No, no. It's not like we could change what had happened."

Before I could respond, the car stopped, and Phoebe had already dropped me off. She said goodbye and then drove away.

I thought the world was cruel. Those people like Phoebe and me? We had no choice but to enter this darkness or else we'll never be able to survive.

It was because of those damned parents that didn't care for their kids at all.

And so I'd be doing this.

I turned to face the one and only Goode High School. I took a deep breath before entering. _Calm down, Annabeth, calm down. It's just high school._

The halls of the school was filled with students who looked at me like 1) they were disgusted 2)they were amazed by this face and 3) they just looked because of the commotion I made (because I kept on bumping into students).

I walked faster toward the main office.

A woman sat in front of a computer, with a mug of coffee at her elbow. She looked up and adjusted her glasses when I entered.

I inhaled air again. I gathered up my courage before I could turn back and tell Luke to just let me kill his brother directly.

"Um, I'm here to get my class schedule and locker combo." I said, playing with my hands as I leaned over the desk. The woman narrowed her eyes. "You transferred?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes. I'm Annabeth Chase. I believe someone had already told you about me?"

"Ah, yes. A man told me…yes." She handed me sheets of printed paper. "Go enjoy your stay here, Miss Annabeth Chase."

I gave a small smile. "Thank you. Enjoy your day, too."

I walked out of the main office and sighed in relief. Oh gods, one step finished! Now, I had to find the locker hall and go to Homeroom.

The bluish backpack seemed to get heavier as I tried to search for the locker hall. Why was Goode High so big? Then I found myself in the _powder room. _Yes, this place even had a powder room where all those rich looking bitches gathered to put on their oh-so-red lipsticks and powder that made them look like clowns. One girl who wore little-to-less clothes scowled at me. She left her brownish-reddish hair undone and examined me closely.

I backed away _in disgust. _Of course I wasn't scared of her. I was Code Name Wise Girl, whom the everyday news held and people knew for being a notorious killer.

The girl looked at me from head-to-toe. "Are you new?"

_What? _I thought.

She made her minions come over and then turned back to me. "How can you wear those…_clothes _in this school?" she looked at my clothes in disgust.

I glared at her. "They're still clothes. Why do you care if I wear these? _At least _I'm wearing something, unlike you, who may be wearing nothing at all." I pointed to her clothes.

She growled at me and was about to hit me when a hand stopped her.

"Hey, Drew." A red-headed girl appeared. She was _so _beautiful that I can't help but stare at her. And those green orbs…reminded me of the calm sea.

The girl, whose name was Drew, backed away from the redhead. Her minions did the same.

"H-hey." Drew stuttered. The green-eyed girl snorted. "You really love bullying new students huh, Drew Tanaka? Why don't you just, put your eyeliner or something? _And,_" she emphasized the word And. "Don't ever bother this girl again."

"O-o-oh yeah, of course." Drew and the others ran off from the powder room.

The red haired girl laughed. "Thanks." I said.

She turned to me. "Welcome." She said with a smile. "Don't mind Drew. She's always like that. Scaring newbies away. But she has an experience with me – a bad one - so she wouldn't be doing it again."

"She seems really afraid of you." I said.

"Well, she should be." She extended a hand. "By the way, I'm Rachel."

I shook hands with her. "My name's Annabeth."

"I think we can be friends." Rachel said. "You want to?"

I nodded. This way was better. Maybe I could ask her for directions. "Of course."

"Can I look at your schedule?" she asked.

I handed her my class schedule and she read it carefully before giving it back to me.

"Homeroom with Mr. Brunner, huh?" Rachel said, raising a brow. "I can take you there but we don't have the same class. But we've got the same for English. Maybe we can meet up for lunch?"

"Okay."

"So, let's go first to your locker, Annabeth?"

**Percy's POV:**

Of course I was the earliest guy again.

I arrived at seven o'clock because Luke didn't have the same school as me and he had to go earlier since he was the Student Body President.

And Dad decided that we go together.

I had woken up early, but I still was a bit sleepy. I went home late last night because of that firefly watching thingy.

I sat at the far corner of the room, so I can sleep in class without anyone knowing and I can go unnoticed because all those girls? They would sit beside me and try to seduce me and stuff.

At seven-fifty, students started to come in the classroom. Luckily, the girls didn't notice me because I hid my face with my blue jacket.

The room was noisy. It was filled with the endless chattering of those students – especially the girls – who gossiped around or talked about the boys.

And then…I felt someone sit beside me. It was a girl, I knew it from her sigh. I groaned. If it was Drew Tanaka or Nancy Bobofit again, I'll die.

I couldn't take my jacket off my head. What if she saw me?

"Do we need anything for Homeroom?" the girl asked. It wasn't Drew or Nancy or anyone I knew in this classroom. Was there a new student? But her voice was so familiar.

I shook my head slightly. "No." I said in a low voice, the voice which I made sure no one would be able to recognize me. "Just listen to Mr. Brunner and it's alright."

"Ah, thank you."

I just nodded. I could feel the girl turning her gaze away from me. I sighed in relief mentally.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class.

"Roll call." Mr. Brunner said. I groaned again. They would all surely know where I was if my name was called. And then Mr. Brunner started to call on names.

"Annabeth Chase?" he called on after a few names.

Annabeth Chase? I took my jacket off my face slowly, and I glanced at the girl beside me. She had a tan skin, honey-blonde hair that was curled like a princess', and brilliant grey eyes.

My eyes widened. Wasn't she going to her sister's high school?

It was actually Annabeth Chase, and she had the same Homeroom as me!

And then I finally took the jacket off and stood. "How did you get here?"

Everyone turned their heads. The blonde was shocked, her eyes wide, like she couldn't believe that I was even existing.

Mr. Brunner raised a brow. "Well, Mr. Jackson, can you please calm down right now. Miss Chase transferred to this school, of course she will be here."

I fell back to my seat in embarrassment. I could feel heat rise up to my cheeks.

"You're here, too?" Annabeth whispered.

I saw Drew glaring at Annabeth while Nancy _was _glaring at me, like she was saying, _How dare you cheat on me, Jackson?_

"I should be asking you that question." I said, while still trying not to look at Nancy. "I thought you go to your sister's school."

"Well it just happened." She said.

"How's Shenaree?" I asked.

"She's fine…"

Mr. Brunner cleared his throat. "Mr. Jackson, Ms. Chase, do you mind listening or are you so busy with your own world right now?"

The both of us faced front and didn't talk to each other for the rest of the period.

**Annabeth's POV:**

Homeroom ended.

Rachel and I agreed to meet up. But Percy Jackson followed me outside the room.

"Hey." He said.

I stopped on my tracks and tried for a smile. "Hi. It's good to see you here, huh."

He chuckled light-heartedly. "It's amazing. Did you take a picture of the fireflies last night?"

I shook my head. "I was so tired."

I still couldn't believe that he was in my Homeroom. Really. It was like a blessing.

Rachel arrived and saw us both. She frowned when she saw Percy and I talking to each other.

"Hey, Rachel." I said. Percy flinched.

"You know each other?" Percy and Rachel said at the same time.

I looked at them back and forth. "Um…I know Percy, and I know Rachel."

"You know Annabeth?" Rachel asked Percy.

"I do!" Percy answered. "Do you know Annabeth?"

"Well, it's obvious!" Rachel said.

"Do you know each other, then?" I asked the two. I was really close to laughing at them.

The redhead huffed.

Percy stared at me. "Annabeth, this is my fiancée, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

* * *

**Chapter 7 done! And this time, you meet Rachel! We are getting to the first meat of this story, it's close I promise! There will be lots of 'twists and turns' in this fic, so stay with me!**

**Please read and drop in a review to tell me what'cha think.**

**CNWG, signing off.**


	9. Annabeth in Goode

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 8**

**Annabeth **_**in **_**Goode**

**Annabeth's POV:**

"…fiancée?" I asked.

Rachel looked away, her arms still crossed. "Long story."

I stared at Percy Jackson, and then back at the red-haired girl named Rachel. Luke never told me Percy had a fiancée. I guess it didn't matter to him.

Percy grinned. "It must be a coincidence that we met each other here." He said. "Anyways, I'm going with my cousins, you want to join us?"

He talked like the fiancée issue didn't matter. Suddenly, the topic was forgotten.

"Who are you asking?" Rachel asked. "Annabeth or…"

She stared at Percy, and their eyes met. They both had an understanding.

"Oh." Rachel said. And then she turned to me. "Hey, Annabeth, I forgot. I have to get some papers done for the main office. Can you go with Percy first?"

I nodded hesitantly. "I guess."

Rachel looked hurt, but she managed a smile. "Gotta run. See yah!"

She waved her hand and ran off, but I caught a glimpse of Rachel's sour face as she turned.

Whatever happened between Percy and Rachel…

It wasn't good.

x~x~x

Percy and I found a place at the far corner of the school cafeteria.

But still, some students were able to see us. They saw me and then they murmured something to each other. They were probably wondering how I got together with the oh-so-popular Percy Jackson. I mean, duh, it was obvious. Percy was a total hottie in Goode High. Even in Mr. Brunner's homeroom, I was able to see some girls winking at him or making weird facial expressions that I couldn't care less about.

So far Percy wasn't taking interest in those girls.

But then again, how could he? He was engaged to Rachel.

I frowned. Percy and Rachel seemed okay, but when she asked her fiancé that question, everything changed. Percy seemed like he didn't want his own fiancée with him. They seemed fine, but then…

I shook my head slightly. I couldn't be distracted from my real mission. Whatever happened between those two, it happened between them, I had no part in that.

"Rachel is usually busy." Percy said, as if he had read my mind. "She's the Student Body President. Don't worry 'bout her."

I nodded. But I couldn't help thinking: _You can't fool me. I'm not dumb._

"Jackson!"

Percy and I both turned. I saw a girl with spiky black hair coming toward us. The girl's loud voice caught everyone's attention, and I face-palmed mentally because now, all the students knew where we were.

Percy made a face. "Thalia."

The girl's mouth twitched. "Not happy to see me, huh?"

"Nah, I'm just surprised that you're here." Percy said in his carefree tone. "You're usually with Rachel…"

There was an awkward silence between the two. They stared at each other for a ten-count, and that was when I knew that bringing Rachel up when Percy and the girl Thalia were here would be _very, very _bad.

The staring contest was interrupted when two boys, one with dark hair and one blond, sat with us.

"Hey, Thals, good to see you here." The blond one said. " 's been a long time."

The one with the dark hair and pale skin snickered. "You just _had _to say that."

Thalia rolled her electric blue eyes. "I don't really get you, Jason. We're _siblings."_

My eyes widened. Even I didn't know them, it was hard to believe that the blond and Thalia were siblings. They were like, _total _opposites, although they had the same electric blue orbs.

"Well, we would be real close if mom and dad hadn't separated _and _separated us." The blond, whose name was Jason, muttered. "I hate it that you're with dad while I'm with mom."

Thalia stomped her foot. "Jason!" she protested. "You know full well that we'd be together with dad again once we turn eighteen! You know we'd both inherit his company, so – ''

Jason cleared his throat. "Uhm, who's this girl?"

They all seemed to notice me for the first time.

"Uh, she's new." Percy said. "I've met her before, and uh, her name's Annabeth."

I gave them a small smile.

"Annabeth, these are my cousins. That's Jason," Percy pointed to the blond. "That's his sister Thalia," he motioned to the girl with spiky black hair. "And this is – ''

"Nico." The guy with dark hair said. "Hi, Annabeth."

Thalia's eyes turned to me. "I think Rachel mentioned you a while ago, when I saw her walking down the halls."

"I'm her new friend…" I trailed off, wondering if Rachel really wanted me as a friend. "…Annabeth."

Nico raised a brow. "New friend? Then you're a friend of Percy, at the same time, a friend of Rachel?"

"Is something wrong with that?" I asked.

The girl Thalia gave Nico the evil eye, but he ignored it.

"Well, we've got separate teams here." Nico said. "I mean, Thalia and Rachel here are separated from us. So, whose group are you going with?"

I scratched my head. "Can you not like, re-unite, or something?"

Percy and Jason exchanged looks. And then Thalia grinned and clapped me on the back. "Annabeth, join me and Rachel. We'd kick the ass of these fools. That'd be great! Now that you're here, we can have a three-on-three fight."

Jason's eyes shone. "Girls against the men…" he said dreamily. "Awesome."

"We can't do this to the new girl, guys." Percy said in all seriousness. "Thalia, tell Rachel we'd be going as one group again."

Everyone seemed shocked. Percy said _again. _It probably meant that they were one group before…

Thalia's face fell. "Are you sure, Jackson? I mean…you _know _what happened the last time…"

Percy nodded grimly. "I know, Thals. But we've gotta try."

And I really felt like the fifth wheel. I was clueless. And I couldn't talk to them about anything.

But I was okay with the girls going with the boys. I can't just leave Rachel, but I can't leave Percy, too. He was the target.

The four looked uneasy. And I couldn't help but wonder what really happened.

x~x~x~x

**Percy's POV:**

I slammed the locker door shut.

Thalia and I walked together to our Chemistry class. It turned out that Annabeth and I had the same classes except for Chemistry, so I just went with Thalia.

"So, you sure you want me and Rachel back?" she asked.

"I _never _hated you, Thals." I said. "Why would I not want you back?"

Thalia cringed. "Percy…it's not me we're talking about here." She said. "It's Rachel. She thinks you hate her. You know what I mean."

I sighed. "I could never hate Rachel. You know that, too. She _was _my best friend. But I can't go…farther than that like she wanted to. I just…can't."

"She thinks you're still mad at her for doing _that."_

I looked down on my hands. "We still have to go back to being one group. Annabeth's new here. We can't welcome her with this conflict we have. Maybe we can be united again, Thals. Maybe it's fate that she's a friend of both Rachel and I so we can be back to the way we were before."

"You don't sound sure."

I shrugged. "I'm not sure about many things."

We opened the door to Chem. class. And that pretty much ended our conversation.

**Annabeth's POV:**

Luke sat on the couch with his feet propped up on the table (he loved doing that).

I sat across of him.

"So," he started. "How's school?"

"Tiring." I admitted.

He smirked. "Knew it. What happened?"

I smiled. "Well I got to know a lot of people."

"Can you give me specific names, Annie?" Luke asked. I knew he was waiting for something.

"Percy Jackson." I replied. "And his cousins…_and _his fiancée."

"Lovely!" he exclaimed. "So did you get anything?"

I shook my head. "I have gotten inside his circle. But I still have a long way to go, Luke. Plus, your brother's _other _problems…" I trailed off.

Luke's brow creased. "What _other _problems?"

I shrugged. "Nothing."

I decided it was better not to tell him. It was irrelevant anyways.

"Well Code Name Wise Girl, you better make your long way short." He said. "Anyway, I'd be busy with other stuff. You don't have to report your progress to me every day. Just call when something important came up, or when you know where the seal is already. We can't risk being spotted."

I gave a small nod. "Alright."

"You're on your own from now on, Annie. Good luck."

"Yes."

I walked away and went home to rest.

But resting really wasn't my thing. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to Percy and Rachel, and why were his cousins talking about a _fight? _

I was starting to think maybe high school wasn't so great.

And I had only been there for a day. What would happen if I stayed there any longer?

Oh, gods. How I wished I had known the answer earlier…

* * *

**Hi! I've been gone for long but here I am again, with chapter 8. I want to thank everyone who reviewed and/or clicked the favorite/follow button. You guys are awesome!**


	10. The Flickering Flame

**Hey there! So, random question: have you watched San Andreas? It's awesome. I love "The Rock" and Alexandra Daddario. Anyways, you guys are awesome as always! You gave a lot of heartwarming reviews. So thank you and here are my messages for you.**

**GamingWaterBottle: Thanks for being the 5oth reviewer! I consider you my first golden reviewer, since you are the 5oth. Thank you, thank you, and more thank you!**

**jemmawoodcroft: Well, here it is! It's the long awaited (hihi) update. **

**Guest: I don't know if this is the best spy fanfiction but if you think so, then wow…that's great! **

**Sandrine21: That's cool. Thanks, Sandrine21. And it's not long before we see what kind of fight they had (wink, wink).**

**fireprincess2020: Oh, then if you think so...well, I guess I did a good job on writing the action scenes – for a first time writer of action/spy stuff. Haha. Thank you!**

**The fan girl (Guest): Don't worry, I have finished the plans for this story. I will continue this no matter what so you can read more of this. **

**michaelaanneschultz: Yeah, me too. (You know what I mean)**

**Uh, I also would want to thank michaelaanneschultz again for being there ever since the first chapter. She's awesome, I'm telling you! And her story, **_**Lies of the Wandering Soul **_**is awesome, too! I'd also like to thank The Blue Warrior (guest), animelove22, O Shit (guest) and silverwolf7579 for reviewing.**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 9**

**The Flickering Flame**

**Annabeth's POV:**

"Okay, bye, sis…yeah, yeah, I'll behave well. Bye."

I turned the phone off and hid it in the pocket of my blue backpack. I'd be in serious trouble when the teachers saw it. _Especially _Mr. Brunner. He heard one phone ring yesterday and he quickly put the student in detention.

A silver limousine parked in front of me.

It was _stunning. _The sunshine made it look like _real _silver, and it might have been one. The wheels looked new and there was a logo stuck on one of the windows: D.E.

The window at the backseat rolled down.

The sitter was a familiar red-haired girl with green eyes and sweet smile.

"Hi, Annabeth." Rachel Dare greeted.

For once, I was at loss for words. "Uh, uhm…huh?"

I knew Goode students were impossibly wealthy, but when you're there you wouldn't think of it at all. The school itself was gorgeous, but the students seemed like…_normal _students…or was that just me?

"Join me here." Rachel invited. "I want to talk to you about something."

I shuddered. "Alright."

Okay, so I'd be riding a super-super gorgeous limo and I wasn't even a bit excited. That was weird. But then again I knew what we were going to talk about. It wasn't something super-super gorgeous like the silver limo.

I sat next to Rachel, and then with one snap of a finger, the limo sped away.

There was a box on my right, and another on Rachel's right. The redhead opened hers and got a can of soda in her hand.

"Open your box." She told me.

I obeyed. The sodas were all marked D.E. I frowned. "What's up with these logos?"

Rachel cringed. "D.E. It means Dare Enterprises."

"_Dare _Enterprises?" I asked in shock. "_You _own the..the…"

She nodded. "Everything with the D.E. But I didn't invite you here to brag about that – well it's not something to brag about anyway – and uh, I want to ask you – ''

"About Percy Jackson?" I guessed.

She nodded again. "Thalia told me that he wants us to be one group again. I mean, it's not like I don't want to, but…"

"But what?"

"I'm scared…" she whispered like she was talking to herself.

"Why are you scared?" I asked. Okay, Annabeth, way to ruin the friendship on it's first day.

Rachel managed a sad smile. "Can you keep a secret?"

_I have lots of secrets, _I thought. _But not a single one of them is revealed._

"I'm good at keeping secrets." I said. "Trust me."

And I was pretty surprised to know that I _really _meant it.

Rachel took a shaky breath. "I'm scared of Percy. H-he _wouldn't _forgive me..." she shook her head. "He is _mad _at me. My family was invited in Percy's family dinner, and he didn't show up. I _knew _he was still mad at me. He knew I would be there, so he didn't show up."

"Hey. Don't jump into conclusions already, Rachel." I advised her. "Maybe something happened so he wasn't able to attend the dinner."

Rachel shook her head. "No, Annabeth. You don't understand. You…you don't know what happened…"

The limo stopped, and someone opened the door for us.

"We're here, Lady Rachel." The man in a butler's uniform said.

Rachel glared at him, and the man bowed and apologized.

The redhead waved her hand to dismiss him and we both trudged down the noisy halls of Goode High. In all honesty, I was still uncomfortable. Whenever students glanced at me, I _literally _hid my face.

Rachel and I walked to our lockers. The girl was silent, and her body language told me that she didn't want further questions about our topic in the limo earlier.

"So," I said while putting my textbooks in the locker. "You're the Student Body President?"

Rachel shrugged, but I knew she was glad to drop our previous topic. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

"I heard it from – '' I stopped myself before I could say 'Percy'. "– some students yesterday."

She slammed the locker door shut and we walked to our own Homeroom.

"Don't tell anyone what I told you, please?" Rachel pleaded.

I gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course."

When we were close to my Homeroom, we slowed our pace. Rachel gave me a hug before I could go inside the room.

"I'll see you at lunch, Annabeth."

I nodded. "Yeah. But have you agreed to Percy's…"

I stared at her, and she hung her head low.

"If we go with him at lunch, then he will know my answer."

"So will we go with him?" I asked. I _really _hoped she'd say yes. I _had_ to be closer to Percy Jackson. That was the sole reason I got into this school.

"I'll think about it." Rachel replied in a small voice.

She gave me one last hug and then slowly walked away, while I exhaled all the nervousness I had when we were in Rachel Dare's limousine.

I walked in the room, and I just _had _to scream.

x~x~x~x

**Percy's POV:**

I saw Annabeth coming in the room, so I decided to greet her.

The blonde came in, and when she turned, I greeted her, "Hi."

She screamed so loud that she caught everyone's attention.

"What's wrong, Annabeth?" I asked her.

When she realized it was just me, she calmed down. But she looked around and noticed that everyone was looking at her like she was crazy.

She shrugged and played with her hands. "You surprised me." She muttered.

I realized Annabeth might have been thinking something. Maybe something scary. That thought almost made me laugh. From the first time I met her, I already knew that she wasn't someone who'd think about non-sense things. Look at her deep, stormy, swirling grey eyes and you'd know. When you stare right into her eyes, you'd cower and hide under the covers. Annabeth always looked like she was ready to take someone down. And _maybe _she _was _going to take someone down.

"I'm sorry." I told her. "Didn't mean to."

"I know."

"But your screaming almost got you the Best Scared as Shit award." I teased.

Annabeth's face flushed, and she started to protest.

"That was entirely _your _fault!" she said.

"Yeah, yeah, alright."

The both of us walked to our seats but it earned us some suspicious looks. I was so glad that Drew and Nancy weren't here yet, else they might pull Annabeth's golden curls. I didn't want _another _episode of that. Annabeth started to say something, but then she stopped.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She trembled. "Nothing."

I decided to let it go. I sat straighter on my seat, and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Are you mad at Rachel?" Annabeth asked suddenly, which caught me off guard.

I frowned. "What makes you think that?"

Apparently, Annabeth didn't seem to be that clueless of our _little _situation.

"Well, I kind of noticed it yesterday…" she said, but she seemed careful of the words she used. "I mean, I don't mean to be so nosy, but it was too obvious, and I couldn't help being curious."

Some students started murmuring amongst themselves, glancing at Annabeth and me in curiosity.

I nodded. "I understand. Well, I'm not mad at her, Annabeth. If I am then I wouldn't want our group to unite."

"I'm sorry I asked."

"It's alright, Annabeth." I assured her. "You are part of our group now. You deserve to know stuff."

She eyed me, and I could swear she looked guilty. Her eyes were shining.

"Have you talked to Rachel?" I asked Annabeth.

She nodded. "Yeah. This morning, she picked me up with her glamorous limo, and…" she hesitated. "And…we talked about things."

"Did she tell you her decision?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Not yet. I think we'll know at lunch."

I noticed that she was uncomfortable. I guessed she didn't want to talk about her conversation with Rachel any further.

I grinned, for the sake of lighting up the mood. "Hey, how's your sis?"

She smiled. "She wants me to go with her watch fireflies. But I'm _super _busy. There's school, there's work, there's Shenaree. So, no time at all."

"I'll go with her." I suggested.

Her expression turned guarded. "You don't have to – '' she caught herself. "I mean, I don't want to bother you. You must be a busy person, too."

"Nah, I'm a not-busy guy." I told her. "Usually I have free time."

Annabeth was silent for a three-count. And then Mr. Brunner came in.

"I'll just go with my sister this weekend." Annabeth decided. "Don't tire yourself."

Oh, I should have told Annabeth that I wasn't planning on taking no for an answer.

x~x~x~x

**Annabeth's POV:**

I spent most of the time in my classes thinking about _a lot of things._

By which was bad for a girl in her second day in high school…and _literally, _it's her second day _in _high school.

A part of me felt guilty when Percy called me a _part _of his group. And there was this weird feeling that I should focus on knowing Rachel and Percy's secret first before focusing on the mission.

Okay, so maybe I was fooling myself. I just wanted to delay a little bit so I wouldn't have to kill Percy…yet. And I knew that it would come to that eventually. But there was this feeling inside me that I can't know where the seal was yet so that I could spend more time in senior year.

I was actually enjoying it so far.

I rested my back on the wall, waiting for Thalia Grace and Rachel. They were six minutes late already, but I kind of understood them. Goode High was a big place.

And as more minutes came to pass, my mind was being invaded by a lot of thoughts.

I remembered my conversation with Rachel this morning. _I'm scared. _I remembered her saying. And I started to wonder what she did to Percy that she would be afraid of him. It wasn't like Percy would kill her…right?

I looked on my wristwatch again. _Maybe they'd forgotten about me, _I thought foolishly. _I'm the outcast._

A group of girls walked past me. They were whispering things to each other, and I could only hear a few things. _Fire. A girl trapped inside. The "Lady"._

All of a sudden, students started to make their way to who-knew-where. I frowned and followed them.

I was led to a crowded place…

With a burning room.

A girl with spiky black hair and blue eyes waved her hand at me, but she didn't seem happy. It was Thalia. She walked toward me, but was having a hard time since a lot of people stood in her way. She kept bumping into them, and kept saying sorry.

At last she made it.

I looked back at the panicking students and teachers and the room in flames. Some were trying to extinguish the fire, while some were trying to call whoever they can call.

"What happened here?" I asked Thalia.

The girl's eyes were misty, like she'd tried to go inside the burning room.

"Annabeth Chase, it's the Music room." Thalia replied urgently. "No one knew how it caught fire, but it doesn't matter at this moment. There's something more important…" her voice broke.

"Who's inside?" I asked again. And then I saw Percy Jackson trying to tell the teachers not to block his way, and I had the feeling that my question was answered.

Thalia took a deep breath. "It's Rachel. She told me she'd go back to the Music room because she forgot her notes. So I went to get you, but Nico and Jason came and told me that…" she pointed to the room. "_That _happened."

"Are you sure she's still there?"

"Yes. We heard her scream a while ago."

"Excuse me." I told Thalia.

I shoved the students who were in my way aside. They glared at me but I gathered my courage and glared back at them. A woman with slightly upturned brows and long brown hair stood in my way. She put her hands on her waist, and shook her head.

"Oh no." The woman said, her deep violet eyes looking down at me in disapproval. "We can't risk another student's life."

I gave her a sly smile. "Don't worry, Ma'am. I know what to do."

Her brows creased. "I –''

I walked past her and took a long cloth from a coach and wet it.

Thalia and Percy tried to pull me away, but I shrugged their hands off me. I ripped a piece of the long wet cloth and used it as a mask for my nose and mouth. Percy, realizing that he can't stop me, handed me a fire extinguisher. I used it to put out the fire on the entrance.

I barged in. Everything was on fire. The smoke looked like thick fog, not letting me see clearly.

And then I saw a figure of a girl near a burning shelf. Rachel. I ran to her aid and saw she passed out. I ripped another piece of wet cloth and put it on her face, and then I covered her body with the remaining wet cloth and carried her bridal style.

Luke had trained me for this kind of thing. This was what he called the "basics" and said we (the gang) needed this to survive. I had thought it was silly then. _What's the use of this in killing?_ I always asked. But now I understood. The "basics" Luke taught me had finally come in handy.

I burst out of the room with an unconscious Rachel.

Everyone gathered around us, but the teachers pushed them away.

"Oh gods!" one shrieked.

"We need to bring her to the hospital." I said. "Did you call 911?"

The woman with upturned brows a while ago nodded. "Of course."

A man took Rachel. "That was a nice thing you did back there, Miss." He told me.

I nodded. "Thanks."

Percy and Thalia pulled me out of the school…

We were in the hospital with Rachel.

Percy had called Rachel's parents, and they arrived shortly after the call.

"The fire's been put out." Thalia told us. "I just called Jason, he told me."

"What was the cause of the fire?" Rachel's mother asked. She held her daughter's hand tightly.

Thalia shook her head. "They're still investigating the incident, Mrs. Dare. And the police needs Rachel's statement. We have to wait until she wakes up."

Mrs. Dare turned to me. "Annabeth Chase, correct?"

"Yes, Mrs. Dare."

"Thank you. If you hadn't taken action, my daughter would never have made it."

I tried to search for words to say, but I remained silent.

Percy placed a hand on my shoulder. "That was brave, Annabeth. You were cool under pressure."

I mock glared at him (gods, I was getting comfortable with this guy). "That wasn't even near cool. And I wasn't brave. I just did the right thing."

And once again, Annabeth Everlyn Chase was fooling not just the people around her, but herself. _The right thing, _I laughed at myself. _When did I ever do the right thing?_

"You're a good friend." Thalia said, giving me a wide smile. "You saved Rachel even when all of us tried to stop you."

Rachel's hand moved. We all gathered around her.

The girl's eyes opened, and she immediately sat up.

"Rachel, are you feeling okay?" Thalia asked.

"Dear, what happened?" Mr. Dare also asked.

But Rachel only stared at us. She clutched her blanket and shook her head.

"Someone was there…" Rachel muttered. "Someone…"

Percy frowned. "Rachel? Are you saying...someone was with you? Was it done by someone intentionally?"

The red-haired girl stared intently at her mother's coffee-colored eyes. "Yes…Someone. Someone was there. Warm colored eyes but…deadly. She was wearing a mask. Yes, a mask."

"_She?"_ Percy asked.

Rachel nodded. "A girl. She burned the room, like she really was targeting me. I couldn't see her face because of the mask. And I wonder why she was wearing a mask…" she trailed off.

I felt my own skin burn like I was still in that room. Mask. Code Name Wise Girl always had a mask on whenever she was on a mission.

Thalia came running in the room. Her eyes were on full alert. "Gods, you've got to see this."

Percy, Thalia, Mr. Dare and I came out of Rachel's room to see the news. A blonde reporter was talking, and the brown stone building of Goode High was behind her.

"…_a girl was rescued." _The reporter was saying. _"One student stated he saw a masked girl jump out from the window of Goode High's Music room. The police are still investigating the incident, but some have already jumped to conclusions. They think the arsonist is the mysterious killer Code Name Wise Girl, the masked person behind the murders of, as far as we know, fifteen people."_

It was as if my body froze. I couldn't move. And then I remembered what Rachel said: _Warm colored eyes but…deadly. _I knew exactly who she was talking about now.

Luke Castellan actually made someone pretend to be Code Name Wise Girl…

To kill Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

**Hi, there! **

**So, I just want to say...We'll have a special shout out for the 75****th **, **100****th **, **125****th**** , 150****th**** , 175****th**** , 200****th**** , and so on, reviewer. If we ever reach 200, or 175, or even a hundred, I will read a story of yours and review, but if the lucky reviewer is a guest, then I will give a very, very special message for you. **

**Anyways, the Percabeth story is yet to come, but it **_**will **_**come. I will just first give Annabeth a hard time deciding: to follow Luke to survive? Or should she just waver? **

**(Evil laugh) Everything's going to get interesting in later chappies! **

**But for now, I'll have to say goodbye. So, read and review, and if you're lucky, you might just be the 75****th**** reviewer (or if I'm lucky enough to get that many reviews).**

**So, yeah, this is me, CodeNameWiseGirl, signing off.**

**Remember to tell me what you think!**


	11. Hearts In Flame

**Hi, pips! So I've got my lovely reviewers and I'm the happiest person...well, at least in our household...**

**Anyways! I want to thank all of you who followed, favorited, and reviewed! I want to give my shout out to:**

**animexpercy: Ha I think so, too. But Rachel is...yeah, you'll find out soon enough. *wink***

**Owlhead-jvr: Hey! You actually reviewed for this. Didn't see that coming. I hope you'll stay here (you know what I mean) and keep on reviewing. I love your stories, too.**

**Guest (Guest): Here's my update. Thank you for reviewing! *clap clap***

**Sandrine21: You're amazing, too! Your reviews are deeply appreciated!**

**Guest (Guest): Thank you. And here's my update. Let's show my mom I can do this.**

**KaylsDaughterofHades: Yeah, you're back! And it's true you confused me. I love your previous username but I also love your new one. Y'know, I've dreamed of being a daughter of Hades, too, but figured I just want to get married to Nico than be his sister. Hahaha. Anyways, thanks for another motivating review!**

**iluvbooks: (this one's the longest) Oh my gods you like, reviewed nine times for the last chapter. I love your way of reviewing and it just encourages me to go on through this. Thank you, thank you! And yeah, you're right. Annabeth is kinda pitiful. She's forced to lead a hard life at a very young age with a sick sister under her responsibility, too. I'm sooo bad. And yet it's the story... (rambles on) Anyway, I read your story "What's Wrong With Me" and it was very beautiful. I loved it. Okay, so I love most PJO stories but still...our stories seem to have commonalities and I just feel it. I love your story, too. It's amazing. **

**A/N: We're going for the second book and we'll have third person here and until the last chapter of this fic. Just want to tell you guys so you won't be confused as to why there's a change in the writing style. Anyways, let's start it!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 10:**

**Hearts in Flame **

**THE CODE NAME: WISE GIRL SECOND BOOK**

"_Don't you dare laugh at me, Jackson!" Rachel Elizabeth Dare pointed an accusing finger at the dark haired boy with the perfectly captivating green eyes. The boy laughed, watching his best friend's face as the smudged cake smeared her pretty face. "Don't you dare, Percy!" Rachel warned again._

_Percy snorted derisively, but held his hands up defensively. "Okay, don't kill me." Just after Percy said it he burst out laughing again. A tiny piece of smudged cake slid down Rachel's cheek, irritating her and…_

_Okay, making her blush._

_And then suddenly the door flew open._

* * *

"Well, I've got a hundred and sixty nine mails left unread, actually," Luke grumbled as he sat down on the chair across the table. A tall glass of strawberry smoothie which they called _River of Fire _sat at his elbow. "Why did you want to meet?"

Annabeth folded her arms and glared daggers at Luke. "I'm sure you've heard all about Rachel now. And I'm sure the Jacksons are all in the hospital with her," Luke's eyes narrowed, but this time, it wasn't the _Don't-You-Dare-Defy-Me _narrowing eyes kind of thing, it was more like the _What-in-Hades'-Name-Are-You-Talking-About _kind of thing. Annabeth leaned forward a little. "Why did you try to kill her?" she whispered. There wasn't use in whispering, anyways. The coffee shop they were in was crowded and noisy, and no one would have cared about her and Luke's conversation.

Her stormy gray eyes hardened. _They wouldn't have cared. _Those people would never care. It was funny how she'd bitterly talk about the people never caring when in actuality she too never , it was human nature. If she was human, that is. Even though humans are so repulsively ugly in terms of nature, nothing sure beats Annabeth's ugliness.

She cringed at the thought.

"What the hell are you trying to say, Annie? I wouldn't kill Rachel Dare and seriously, there's no use in trying to." Luke said before taking a sip on his pink-colored _River of Fire _smoothie which had melted off badly when he came late. Annabeth frowned, and then stared straight right into Luke's usually-insincere-but-now-sincere blue eyes. Even under twisted situations and direct questioning, Luke was still able to tell half-truths.

And then there is still the other half which means it must be the lying part.

Luke folded his arms and huffed, viewing outside the glass window of the coffee shop and looking clearly peeved. "You really didn't do it?!" Annabeth gasped, her eyes widening in mock surprise. Luke quickly turned and pushed his empty glass towards her. The glass was about to fall of the table when Annabeth, being the reflexes master she was, caught the thing with her left hand, put it back down, and turned to Luke again like everything had just been a fluke.

"If I wanted to kill Rachel, would I have used a fake Code Name Wise Girl?" Luke took his latest IPhone and clicked on something, knowing he had to show Annabeth some proof before she could ever believe him, and then slid it towards her. Annabeth stopped it with her hand and held up the phone, staring down at the freeze framed video of a girl jumping out of the brownstone building of Goode High. "You know we've got a very important mission and we can't mess that up. So why should I let the others be curious on who the heck is Code Name Wise Girl." He said, leaning back on his chair uncomfortably. "Curiosity leads to something big."

Annabeth was more aghast. She read the comments about the video. There was one person with username _pepperminticecream _who said: _This Code Name Wise Girl is the bloodsucker plaguing America. I hope karma gets her. _And another one said: _There isn't a place which is safe nowadays. My mother told me not to have children since I'm only gonna bring them to a hellish world. Thanks to that killer._

Annabeth gritted her teeth in anger. Her eyes glazed and dug through the screen like a bulldozer digging up holes on the ground. No, they didn't understand. Those people only judged, but they never asked her why. It had been the response she knew was coming, but why did it impact her so much? Why did she care if those people hated her? They didn't know her anyway. They didn't know her life.

And she hadn't been the one to jump off that building.

She hadn't been the one to try to kill Rachel Dare in that fire.

Yet the people said it was her. And maybe they were right to say so. Maybe they were right to blame everything on Code Name Wise Girl. After all, she was truthfully a killer – even if she wasn't the one who burned the Music room.

Luke snapped his fingers in Annabeth's face. She had been staring at the phone for so long Luke had almost worried if she had even been breathing at all. When she had snapped back to reality, she looked up at him wearily, her intelligent gray eyes empty. Luke groaned inwardly. Sometimes he hated Annabeth's wide imagination and high IQ. It led to being over reactive and overthinking.

"I wanted to ask if you were still alive," he said sarcastically, making Annabeth shrug. She handed back his phone and stood up, arranging her chair, and slinging her satchel on her shoulder. "Why are you leaving first?" Luke protested to the already walking away Annabeth. "Is that the right manner!"

Annabeth had the serious urge to yap at her boss, but instead she retorted, "Can a gang leader say that?"

* * *

Olympus Grand Apartment was grand, like the name suggests, and yet it was lonely.

Percy had made his way into the halls with the glittering chandeliers and soft and new red carpets and up to the third floor to Annabeth Chase's door when he saw the different people around, phones on their ears as they walked fast to get to their offices which were located in the tallest buildings around and where depression usually was formed.

_Sad isn't it? _Percy's sweet mother, the deceased Sally Jackson, used to tell him. _When people should be happy living but then they are repressed by money and flashing lights? _

When she died in the hospital without Poseidon who was busy trying to save the stupid company, Percy had changed his views about life. About wealth. About family. He knew money couldn't buy it all. He learned to lay low and had tried several times to live a simple and yet happy life.

And then he learned to use his money to help the people. To save the oppressed. To make a change in his utterly depressing and at the same time sorry life. He didn't want to be heir. He never did. He didn't want to follow his dad's steps wherein he left his family for stupid riches and fabulous cars and large enough mansions and other properties. Then again, who wouldn't? Who wouldn't want such luxury?

And all that went to say, Percy despised lonely. His uncle, Zeus, the father of his cousins Jason and Thalia, owned the place. Zeus always wanted the finest. And of course with 'the finest' comes the finest amount of bucks to pay and if you can't afford that, you need to make a decision on whether you would want to cut out your credit card or meet Zeus in the court. Percy wondered how lonely Annabeth and his sister must be living in this kind of place.

He pressed the doorbell of Annabeth's place. Her apartment was at 3C, as was told to him by Thalia Grace, and the door had the paint of a lonely silver-gray color which was just depressing to look at.

Then the door opened.

* * *

_And suddenly the door flew open._

_There was Mr. Robert Dare, smiling coldly at the two, while motioning for them to come to him. Percy and Rachel obliged. Robert regarded his daughter with narrowed, monotonous cold eyes. Rachel shrunk in fear and yet Percy didn't notice it. He didn't notice something was wrong._

_Something was wrong with his best friend._

_Or more like…she was wrong._

"_Can you please wash yourself first, my dear?" Robert emphasized the words 'my dear'. Rachel pursed her lips and walked away immediately. The man turned to smile at Percy, who was pushing his hands inside his pockets. "Arrive at the dining hall in five minutes." Robert said._

"_What's the occasion, Mr. Dare?" Percy asked, boredom dripping off of his every word. _

"_Five minutes," the man repeated. And he turned his back and left._

* * *

"So how are things going at the hospital?" Annabeth asked as she laid down two glasses of Coke before Percy. Annabeth sat down on the couch with him. "Is Rachel alright?"

"Getting caught in a fire at school would basically mean not alright," Percy said sarcastically. Annabeth snorted. "But other than that, yes. She's fine. And I think she got better when my step-mom and dad came to visit her. Luke was busy, but he promised to come."

Annabeth stiffened at the mention of Luke's name. And then in a flash she regained her composure and drank her Coke. "Did you tell her about Code Name Wise Girl?" she asked. Percy shrugged.

"No. No we haven't. She knows someone tried to kill her, but hey, telling her it _was _a professional assassin would shock her and we didn't…want that." He slowed down as he found books lying around the place. The shelves were organized, although there were empty spaces where Percy guessed Annabeth had taken a book from, and then on the couch separate from the one they were sitting on there was an opened book and a pencil in between the pages. Percy burst out laughing.

"Wise Girl, is this a library or what!"

Annabeth's tanned face almost took the shade of red. She pulled out a pillow behind her and hit Percy in the face with it. She stood up and started picking up her books.

"Seaweed Brain," she muttered incoherently. Percy grinned. Annabeth walked over to the shelves and placed her books there, all of them arranged in alphabetical order. "Why did you come here anyways?" she asked again. Percy shot her a curious look. Annabeth looked back at him.

"Okay, so you just ran off after that news about the killer," Percy replied casually, his hands held up in defense. "I was worried you'd go into challenging her and get yourself killed."

"And you're very confident that I'll be the one killed," Annabeth said as she sat on a cushion on the floor with her legs folded beneath her. Annabeth felt a cold shiver down her back as she said it. It felt weird talking about herself to another person who happened to be her next target. Percy laughed. Annabeth huffed. "Seriously, Seaweed Brain, why did you come?"

"So yeah, I needed a breathing space. My dad's there and usually that's not a good thing. It means nagging here and there and so I needed to get out." He sighed.

"You don't seem to have the best relationship with your dad," Annabeth stated, the fierce look in her eyes going down, letting the softer side of her take over.

Percy shrugged. "Well yeah. He's been forcing me to be heir since I was young even though I didn't want to. And….anyways, can we just talk about something else, Wise Girl?"

He hoped he wasn't scowling too much. But Annabeth was the smart girl. She probably knew he was hiding something and yet she wasn't asking anything. She set down her glass and observed Percy for a little while, and then nodded.

"I'm sorry I ran off just like that. Artemis called and said she'd give me the medicines for Shen." Annabeth said, her fingers tapping the table nervously as she said it.

"Nah, it's no big deal," Percy said, waving his hand to dismiss it. "And anyways, Rachel's dad is inviting you to a dinner tomorrow as thanks for saving Rachel."

Annabeth suddenly tensed. "What…"

"Jason, Thalia, Nico, and me will be there, too." Percy assured her. And sure enough, Annabeth relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief. Percy had always dreaded dinner invitations from Mr. Dare. He'd learned not to go to things like those. But his dad loved that. He always dragged Percy to restaurants and they usually took forever in there, much to Percy's utter distaste. He was sure Annabeth would rather stay at home and read her books than go to things like that. Well at least they had something in common.

"So what will be my role here now? The hero?" Annabeth mumbled, pulling out a sketchpad and a pencil and continuing on a half done sketch of a small house. She drew windows and ruled out the roof and erased the doorstep, replacing it with a much darker one.

"Yep," Percy agreed jestingly as he rose from the white couch and stood over Annabeth's shoulder to look at her work. Annabeth was currently drawing the outline of the stone garden with a beautiful fountain between pretty flowers. Percy had never seen her so gentle as she worked on something. He could almost believe her deep gray eyes were shining. "You're pretty good at this, Wise Girl."

She immediately held up her work, a look of satisfaction evident in her expression. "I've always wanted to be an architect…." She trailed off.

Percy stepped away when Annabeth stood up, brushing her jeans with her hands.

"Oh yes, Seaweed Brain, I'm coming to that dinner," she said finally.

xxx

**So ta-da! It's a new chapter with a new writing style. Yes, yes, kill me. I'm an indecisive person and yes, this is the second book of CNWG. So basically, we'd be going to better chappies. And if you're asking if this is my permanent writing style, yes, it is. Third person will be my permanent writing style for this story. Then there's some foreshadowing of Rachel/Percy story. So yeah.**

**And! You guys are just so amazing! You make my day by your reviews and please continue to do so. If this chapter is another hateful cliffhanger, then I'm sure you'd not review. And I know this is another chapter of a hateful cliffhanger but I promise I'll update as fast as I can! I have a thing for cliffies. They make the stories intense.**

**P.S Writing is like breathing to me. But my mom said I was terrible! So I am a terrible breather? Haha. SO maybe that's not funny. And it really isn't. Don't worry I'm not discouraged by that. I'm gonna show her I can be a better writer. *wink wink* This is one of the reasons why I changed my writing style. I felt like writing in third person captures "the feel" of the story.**

**So did you like it? Is this story going anywhere or what? Is this story too dark or too boring? Tell me please? And PM/review for suggestions! If you want to just talk, you can also PM me for that. I love talking. Talking enables us to voice out what we are feeling inside. Also if you know other good PJO fanfictions please suggest by PM-ing me. I'd appreciate it if you could. **

**And remember the 75****th****, 100****th****, 125****th****, 150****th****, (etc..) rule! No one has still gotten to the 75th review so maybe you're the next! *blink blink* Who could that be?**

**I love you all,**

**CodeNameWiseGirl.**


	12. Of Broken Relationships and Broken Walls

**Hello again! Here's the thing: I've reached the 75th review! Here's a toast to the amazing...iluvbooks!**

**iluvbooks: Reviewed three times. You are so special to me, you know that? Thank you! Here's my update and I hope you enjoy! And you really are the 75th reviewer! I am so encouraged by you. Your story What's Wrong With Me is awesome, too! I started reading it and now I've fallen in love with it...gods, can you fall in love for a story? Definitely. Especially when that story is like your story. AWESOMENESS! Thank you very much! Haha and wouldn't it be great if you become the 100th? **

**TheFallenAce15: Yes, I think you're right! I shouldn't get discouraged! So now, I'm updating this. Thanks for your encouragement!**

**KaylsDaughterofHades: Thanks! You've always been there for me, and I really, really appreciate it. And don't worry, even if you review one year later I'd still appreciate it! Haha, so my mom always tells me not to waste my time on writing but I'll do this! She can't stop me so I hope you won't too because Lies of the Wandering Soul is just awesome.**

**Owlhead-jvr: Well if you think so! So, shall we push through together? Because I'm going to continue writing even with all the discouragements...since I know some still support me. Let's break through, shall we? Anyways, thank you for another review!**

**greekgeekgirlbro: Oh I'm glad you love this story! I'm sorry I still won't explain the Wise Girl part here but next chapter for real! I will do it. I hope I see you again next chapter.**

**IamCrystalClear: Thank you! I am so flattered that you think of Code Name: Wise Girl as best fanfic. Oh holy Zeus, I need to stop squealing! **

**Jaspercabeth83: Thanks for making the time to review, Jaspercabeth! Your story is so good I'm in love with it, too! A mix of Jiper and Percabeth is just too much for me to handle...but I love it seriously! :)  
**

**Whew! Thank gods for the encouragement you've all been giving me. Again, clap your hands for my 75th reviewer, _iluvbooks_! Check her out!**

**Co****de Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 11**

**Of Broken Relationships and Broken Walls**

"You're getting Annabeth this evening…" Rachel muttered under her breath. It had been the sixth time she repeated that statement and it should have been the sixth time Percy will say 'yes' to her. It was as if she had a hard time believing it was true.

Rachel was sitting up on the hospital bed, her red hair frizzy as usual. Her slumber had been disturbed by Percy's barging in and blatantly stating out that he would drive Annabeth to the restaurant on dinner.

"Why do you even need to tell me? It's not like you need permission from _me." _Rachel said, looking up to lock eyes with Percy. His composure immediately stiffened, locking eyes with his fiancée emotionlessly. Rachel inwardly made a 'hmph' sound. "You're getting Annabeth and yet I couldn't even remember a time when you've done that to _anyone."_

"I guess you just don't know me so well then." Percy said, and immediately the tension in the room grew violent. Percy didn't want to have another argument with Rachel, he was certain he didn't. The reason he came to inform her about him getting Annabeth was to avoid _that. _To avoid another argument…like that time when he missed the family dinner and he and Rachel went wack.

And yet the tension grew stronger…stronger…

Until Rachel dropped her gaze and pulled the blanket over her figure. Percy noticed the way she would clutch the blanket tightly, as if it was a lifeline, as if she could die anytime.

And maybe she was.

While Percy was helpful and gentle, he sure could blow deadly gazes at times. And as much as he didn't want to fight with Rachel, he just can't help but make sarcastic remarks at her.

"Fine." Rachel said finally, but still without looking at him. Percy found that more reassuring though. He could not gaze at the redhead without feeling tensed. "About that 're-uniting' the group…are you serious, Percy?" she asked.

Percy was a little taken aback by the question. After that incident in Goode High, he had momentarily forgotten about it.

"Well are you? Because if you're only doing it for Annabeth's sake, then forget it. I don't want us to go smiley-smiley in front of our friends and then gag behind their backs. Tell me now, are we really going into the 'reconciliation' phase, just like what the students at Goode said?" Rachel asked again, this time gathering up her tiny bit of courage and holding Percy's gaze.

The usual gentleness in Percy's eyes seemed to have gone out completely. What was left was a pair of sea-green swirls that glazed and stabbed through her heart like a sharp knife. A _very _sharp knife.

"As long as we stay like this, I'm sorry Rachel but…there's no reconciliation." Percy said, before turning back and leaving the room.

Rachel was left staring – gazing the door where he had just left. The tears she was holding back couldn't come out. She only stared stiffly at that damn door, feeling nothing. Nothing.

Nothing at all.

She guessed she was used to it. To people leaving. To people slamming the door in her face. She could only stare at them. She could only watch their figures leave through the door. Numbness was seeping through her.

Rachel laughed inside of her. She was numb. Finally. She would not feel anything anymore. No more pain. Her eyes then squinted towards the note on the table which was given to her by Percy's step mother when she had visited her. Rachel slowly raised her arm to get it.

_Be well._

Her heart was void, all right. Doesn't mean they could hurt her constantly. And yet she deserved it. It was her fault. It was her fault why everything was broken between her and Percy. She broke that long time of friendship between them.

All for stupid love.

All for nothing.

The small paper crumpled in her hand.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was _not_ well.

* * *

Annabeth was pretty tired of chopping the veggies. The knife in her hand, for the first time, felt wrong. In fact, _everything _felt wrong. Like the fact that she didn't answer Luke's calls even though she needed to report to him since Percy was there. Like the fact that she was still _blushing _from that incident…

Oh well. She needed to stop thinking. One of Annabeth's greatest problems, aside from money of course, was overthinking. She'd have a topic in her mind and then she'd think about it, and suddenly a train of thoughts will come until they won't stop and she'd go crazy.

But Annabeth was pretty crazy enough. Still! That incident was too much, in her defense!

Annabeth stopped chopping. She dropped the knife on the wooden board and took off the cloth that was covering the front of her body. She'd have to go visit Thalia for a dress to wear. She promised Annabeth they would have something 'decent' to wear for dinner – although Annabeth wasn't sure if 'decent' ever fitted the name which is Thalia Grace. She had learned that Thalia's definition of a decent dress was tattered jeans paired up with spiky Goth boots and a 'Die Bitch' T-shirt. The dark choker was a plus. And the eyeliner was something Annabeth wouldn't dare mention in front of Thalia. If there was one thing she learned in that circle of friends, it's to never go against Thalia Grace's fashion style.

Sometimes she wondered if Thalia ever noticed that her eyeliner made her look like she was on drugs.

Annabeth guessed she did. She was just too stubborn to care.

A small smile graced her lips at the thought. She loved stubborn. Well maybe because she was one herself. Being stubborn never meant you were stupid. It's just you don't have a time to give a damn. Well certainly Annabeth had lots of things to give a damn about, but still…sometimes she wished she could just be like the others out there…like Thalia, who never had to give a damn about anything.

Annabeth grabbed her coat and satchel from the couch and hurriedly walked out of the apartment, leaving the vegetables and the beef uncooked in the kitchen. Well, Shenaree had to learn not to depend on her always. She would be pretty okay by herself.

She hailed a taxicab and got in, telling the driver where to go.

xox

"Annie!" Thalia exclaimed before wrapping her in a big hug. The gesture somehow took Annabeth by surprise but at the same time she giggled in delight. Thank the gods Thalia opened the door quickly after she had rang the doorbell. Annabeth did not like standing over someone's apartment door awkwardly with all the people observing her.

She especially did not want to be stared at by those filthy rich people.

"Welcome to Juno!"' Thalia exclaimed with a welcoming grin, but she surely didn't sound enthusiastic. "It's not like I can actually welcome anyone to Juno." She mumbled huffily.

"What's wrong?" Annabeth inquired.

"Hera – you know, my dad's woman? – her family owns the place. Dad _forced _me to live in this apartment." Thalia expressed an irritated sneer. "If I had only stayed at Olympus Grand! I would be next to you, right!"

Annabeth sighed. Thalia lived in one of the most prestigious apartments in the whole New York and she couldn't figure out the problem with living in there. "Juno is a real catch, you know that?" she said.

"Oh well it is unless you consider the fact that your step-not-step mom who loved to meddle with your life is the owner of the flat where you lived and oh, did I mention she always had her staff put gift boxes with little cow toys in them on my doorstep?" Thalia said irritably. "It's an incredibly hard life to live."

Annabeth snorted.

"Hey! Let's not talk about Hera anymore. My mood's messed up when I hear that name. Come in, Annabeth, I'll show you the best things to wear for a Dare dinner."

Thalia pushed the door wide for Annabeth. She entered and was, again, at loss for words when she saw the inside of Thalia's flat. It was definitely better than Olympus Grand could ever be, she decided. The interior design was just flawless, Annabeth could cry. It was a dream come true – to see original Greek style in an apartment. It was architecture at its finest.

She needed to draw.

If Frederick had not left them, Annabeth was sure her life would have been different. She was sure she would be as innocent as a ten year old. No killing. No hardships. No wavering.

But then again, there would be also no Thalia Grace. No Rachel. No Jason and Nico. And no…Percy. It was weird…how her target became a friend.

"Thals, I mean, gods…this is…"

"Awesome? Yeah, I know. If my dad wants the finest, Hera wants the finest of the finest. She loves Greek style and decided to put up some reference to the apartment. So yup, you figured out why Juno is so popular."

"How can you hate this, Thalia…"

"Cows, remember? Personally, I hate cows." Thalia said as she led Annabeth to a large room where a floor-to-ceiling window stayed, making the skyline of New York seem like a show on TV. A queen-sized bed was pushed to the corner, as if sleeping never mattered to Thalia. Posters of rock bands graced the pink painted walls, and…wait, back up. Pink? Thalia must have noticed her confusion. "Don't even mention the paintwork!" she cried out. "That is all Rachel's fault!"

Annabeth raised a curious brow. "The friendship you have seems strong. You look like you've been friends for long," she stated.

"Well yeah, that was until everything went _ka-boom _and gods know where that friendship went…"

"What happened?"

"It all started with Percy – '' Thalia caught herself. She immediately stopped and grinned at Annabeth, dismissing the topic. She grabbed Annabeth's wrist and they ran towards the supersized closet which astounded her just as much. Thalia opened it and Annabeth found out maybe 'decent' was a serious subject to Thalia…

"You see, Annie, I have the best designer, Aphrodite Venus McLean, prepare these dresses for us."

A bead of sweat traced it's way down to Annabeth's neck as she gawped at the sorts of dresses in the closet. Each one of them she never wore once in her life.

_No. Way._

* * *

Percy tugged at his tux nervously, practicing his lines before knocking on Annabeth's door. He probably shouldn't be escorting another girl who wasn't his fiancée, and yet something in Percy felt like he should. But he wasn't so damn sure why he was so nervous.

Girls never made him nervous.

Well except for Nancy Bobofit and Drew Tanaka. Those two always managed to make Percy's skin crawl every time he saw them. But that was to say the least. Percy was ready to literally fit himself in the locker just to hide from them.

Percy calmed himself, taking deep breaths before raising his hand to knock on the silver-gray door of Annabeth Chase's flat. Then he finally did it.

It was a moment after when the silver door with swung open, and on the doorway stood a version of Annabeth Chase Percy _did not _know existed. In front of him was a much more…girly…Annabeth. Was that the right word? He really didn't have an idea.

'Annabeth' wore a blue silk dress that fell down to her knees and abnormally high sky blue heels. Her hair was braided and was left hanging down the right side of her face. Percy needed to think again.

Why in the gods' name would Annabeth Everlyn Chase wear such clothes? She surely didn't do it herself, because her face was blushing furiously red and she looked like she wanted to escape from her own skin.

"How much humiliation should you bring me, Perseus Jackson!" Annabeth yelled indignantly, hugging her chest uncomfortably.

"But you look good!" Percy teased.

"Look good, my foot! You want me to walk around looking like someone who could be raped anytime?" Percy laughed at the expression his friend was giving. All the nervousness he had a while ago faded – again, thanks to that gray eyed girl with the golden curls.

And even the conversation he had with Rachel didn't seem to matter at the moment.

"Let's go?" he said, grinning, while he offered his hand to the abashed Annabeth. She took it reluctantly and they walked out of the apartment complex.

The duo got inside the black car that was waiting for them outside. Percy took the driver seat. Then he turned to the girl beside him, the girl who a while ago was complaining about her clothes and now was contemplating the interior of the car in amazement. Her gray eyes shone. Percy had learned more about her the day before, when he visited her apartment. Things he could safely assume for now:

She loved architecture. No doubt with that.

She loved books.

She adored mystery novels.

She lived only with her sister, although he still didn't have a single idea to what really happened.

She hated girly dresses.

Clever, definitely, and quick-witted.

For once he realized how little he really knew about her. And for some unfathomable reason, a tug in his gut told him he needed to know her more. No. He didn't need it. He _wanted _to know her more.

Percy cleared his throat. He did not need to get all sappy and all that right now.

"So, how's your hand, Annabeth?" he asked, looking down on her hand which still had the wound from yesterday. Annabeth snapped out of her contemplating and stared at Percy, and then on her wounded hand.

"It's…it's healing up," she said, stumbling with her words. A blush crept up to her cheeks, making Percy snicker. The blush faded and Annabeth only stared disbelievingly at him.

* * *

"_Oh yes, Seaweed Brain, I'm coming to that dinner."_

"_So, I'll be coming here tomorrow to pick you up." Percy said coolly, his back facing Annabeth as he scanned the books on the shelves. "The Hardy Boys?" he asked, pulling out the book which was titled The Clue of the Screeching Owl. "What eighteen years old reads this?" _

_Annabeth snatched the book from him and put it back on the shelf, glaring murderously at Percy, but at the same time cheeks flushing. _

"_I do!" she screeched. Percy chuckled, making Annabeth glare at him once more. "You don't understand the beauty of mysteries, Seaweed Brain." She added. Percy grinned._

"_Well, there's actually this thing called adult stuff and there are millions of mystery novels that are for adults in this world and you actually pick The Hardy Boys?" Annabeth rolled her eyes._

"_Well there's actually this thing called not caring, too." She said, picking up the two empty glasses and making her way to the sink. Percy followed her. Annabeth opened the faucet and washed the glasses, Percy staring at her. She tried too hard not to stare back. Her mother once told her that people could hate without loving, but can never love without hating. Annabeth didn't believe that. She'd learned that it actually depends on the person on whether to hate or to love. It isn't the law of the universe to love and then hate, it really just depends on the person. _

_And what did she feel about the green-eyed person next to her? Absolutely nothing. To her he was just another target. But now, in that apartment in that very kitchen, an emotion was growing. Annabeth wasn't sure whether it was hate or love or pity or remorse. She didn't want to know._

"_So, uh, you'll be picking me up?" she asked, her eyes still on the glasses. Percy leaned back on the counter, nodding._

"_I advise on not going alone. The place is confusing and you might just end up on the alleyway where the drunkards usually hang out and jump out at the people passing by." _

"_And once again, you think I'll be the one jumped out at?" Annabeth closed the faucet and dried the glasses with a clean cloth. She grabbed a plate from the sink but didn't realize there was a knife under it. Annabeth jumped back in pain when the point of the blade touched the back palm of her left hand, her eyes alarmed. The hand bled and Percy immediately worried. The wound looked real bad. It was a long slash where blood dripped._

_He immediately grabbed a cloth and made Annabeth wash her hand with running water. Then he forcibly took her hand even though she said she was fine. As Percy dabbed the wound with the clean cloth, a tingling feeling consumed Annabeth. She could feel her cheeks heating up._

_Why, of course, she had no idea. _

"_You might look like a total tough shell, Annabeth, but you have your weaknesses, too." He told her. Annabeth only faced him, her gray eyes meeting his green ones. And at that very moment, with the Fates and the gods as witnesses, something was blooming._

"_Yeah," Annabeth replied. "You're right."_

**xox**

**Look here, Chapter 11 is DONE! Finally. I know I've been a giving terribly slow updates these days but I have my reasons! I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear them. SO let's proceed to more important stuff.**

**This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I was too lazy to type. And if you're getting too confused with all the feelings and stuff Percabeth is showing, that is because they're still a bit puzzled with their own feelings, too. Plus there's Rachel. And they're still trying to learn more about each other. So...puzzled zone, yes, that's where Percabeth is still stuck for now...meh.**

**Hope you guys will love this! **

**PM me or review or follow or favorite! Anything delights me. **

**And send me questions about this through reviews, please? Pretty please?**

**P.S - Good news! We've reached the 75th reviewer! The writer is iluvbooks and her stories are awesome! Check her out, she has a sort of similar story like mine, it is titled What's Wrong With Me? which is also a Percabeth story and which is one of my obsessions right now. The two first golden reviewers are GamingWaterBottle who is the 50th and iluvbooks which is 75th. Thank you! Next goal is the 100th review.**

**P.S 2 - Suggest any of your Percabeth fanfic through PM or reviews! I'm in need of those. I'd appreciate it if you could.**

**Read and Review!**


	13. Disastrous

**Welcome back! It's been long! But here I am, with another chapter. Again, thanks for the reviews! They motivate me so, so much.**

**iluvbooks: OMG thanks. And I don't think I want to write a whole book! Gosh, I could even barely finish a fanfic chapter. But thank you girl! And the Percy rant, yes, its not the girl's fault for having a major crush on Percy. Ah, your reviews make me smile. And I just read the updated chapter of What's Wrong With Me. I think it was a fantastic read. It made my day. :)**

**KaylsDaughterofHades: THANK YOU! And I absolutely am glad that you're still continuing Lies because it's awesome. Thanks, girl. The review made me happy...again.**

**lifefightor500: Thank you for taking the time! I love the tips. And thanks for the encouragement, I really need it. I hope you write your story soon. Can you please PM me if you've done it? Thanks.**

**Cortax: OMG THANKS. I guess you could call it 'start of Percabeth'. Well, this chapter is dedicated to you. I added a bit more here so I hope you enjoy!**

**deviedra: Hehehe, knife under a plate, eh? DO NOT WORRY, my friend, she is not planning to kill Percy that time. It was a mere coincidence. Hahaha, sorry for that. And thanks for the review!**

**And please move on. Read and Review! Anything delights me. And I really enjoyed writing this chapter.**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 12**

**Disastrous**

The drive to the restaurant was somehow short. Percy, for an unknown reason, was excited to see Annabeth in person again. He was thrilled to see her blushing when he brought up last night, and again he reprimanded himself for getting so…well, sappy. They had known each other for almost half a month, but their conversations were almost always done at school. Apparently, he enjoyed teasing Annabeth too much that the drive seemed short. And when he pulled up on the parking space, he could hear Annabeth breathing heavily.

Percy smirked. "First dinner with friend's family?"

"Oh shut up, Seaweed Brain. You have no idea how _hard _it is to meet your friends' _families _with _this _dress," Annabeth reasoned, looking down disgustingly at her blue dress. Percy snickered. "And don't you dare give me the stupid snicker, Jackson." She warned with blazing eyes.

"Sorry, I don't know how, Chase."

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned. Percy laughed at the sound of her palm making contact with her forehead. Still laughing, he offered his arm to Annabeth, who rolled her eyes before taking it. "You are _so _dead after tonight, Jackson." She said as they walked inside of the restaurant with two tall men in waiter uniforms opening the two glass doors for them. As soon as they stepped in, Annabeth stopped on her tracks.

"What?" Percy asked.

"It's just…" Annabeth's breath hitched. "Well…the chandeliers, and the tables, and…and just about everything…they're fantastic…"

"Annabeth, the Dares won't just invite you to Starbucks, you know? And…star struck much?"

"You could say that…" Annabeth said dreamily.

"Geez, everything amazes you, Annabeth Chase."

When she didn't reply, Percy had to push the urge of laughing.

"You need to get out of the way so they can close the door, you know that?"

"Oh right," Annabeth stepped further into the place, glaring at Percy for no reason, really. A man in a tuxedo rushed forward, bowing slightly before the duo. Percy gave a small nod and the man led them to the table _exclusively _reserved by the Dare family. "This is like the ones I see in movies," Annabeth whispered into his ear while they walked.

"What can I do? We're fairly well off," he replied smugly. No. Percy did not like bragging about riches. It was only for the sake of teasing Annabeth.

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth raised a brow. "Fairly _smug _if you ask me. And I don't like these people…all staring at us…"

Percy looked around to see Annabeth was right. _Everyone _seemed to be staring at them. He looked back at his companion to see her brushing her arm softly. Percy sighed and took his coat off, putting it on her back. Annabeth turned to him with narrowed eyes, but he just gave her a grin like 'hey, no big deal'.

"That's what you get for being next to a devilishly handsome guy, everyone's gonna stare,"

"Oh boy, can you be anymore vain? Besides, I think they're staring at me. Why else would you put this coat on me?" Annabeth argued, the corner of her lips curling upwards in a smile.

"And you have the nerve to call me vain,"

"Hey, you have to admit, you were thinking the same thing!"

"How did we get into this conversation again? And no, they couldn't have been staring at you, Chase. No one would stare at a girl who looked like she could be jumped at any time," Percy teased.

"I thought you said I could be jumped at?"

"That's a different case."

"Oh, and – '' Annabeth almost crashed into the man in front of them when they came into an abrupt stop. Percy couldn't help but snicker at her antics.

The man turned to face them, his expression stony. "Here's your table. Enjoy, ma'am, sir." And with that, the monotone man in tux walked off, and they were now with everyone.

"Percy!" a red-headed woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Dare, stood and gave Percy a hug. Percy returned it awkwardly. Then the woman pulled apart from him and turned to greet Percy's friend. "And you must be Annabeth? I've met you before." She said, sticking out her hand for Annabeth to shake. But Percy could tell she was just as awkward as he was around these people.

"Yes…ma'am," Annabeth replied.

"Oh dear, no need to call me ma'am. You are my daughter's friend! Call me Mrs. Dare, please."

"Okay…Mrs. Dare,"

Percy nudged Annabeth, who glared daggers at him secretly. Mr. Dare went to greet Annabeth next. He and Percy made eye contact, but it was broken when someone clapped from the table. Everyone's attention turned into the person.

Luke Castellan stood up, still clapping his hands, with a smirk that stretched the scar along his jaw. Percy knew his family would be coming, only he didn't expect Luke to come. He was usually busy, and never really liked going anywhere. Annabeth almost tripped over her own heels. But Percy was thankfully near enough to catch her.

"Hey, is anything wrong, Annabeth?" he asked as he helped her to her feet. She gently pushed Percy away and steadied herself.

"No, it's nothing. I-I'm not used to wearing heels, that's all," she said, but Percy was sure she wasn't okay. He could see her hands trembling, and her gray eyes anxious.

"Hey, Annie!" Thalia called out. She was wearing a dress seemingly close to Annabeth's – and woah, who would have thought Thalia Grace could pull it off? "Sorry for the heels, really, I just wanted to have a companion here," she said, although she didn't sound real sorry. Annabeth gave her a thumbs-up.

"Bro, you never told me your new friend's _this _type of girl," Luke said, jerking his thumb towards Annabeth. Percy's brows creased. When Luke noticed his expression, he immediately burst into laughter, patting him on the back like a big brother. "Hey, no dirty thoughts, Perce. I'm just saying she's beautiful."

"Thank you," Annabeth snapped out of her daze. Her tone was dangerous, and kind of restricted. She looked up at Luke, and stuck her hand out. "My name is Annabeth Chase, and…I'm Percy's friend."

A somewhat mischievous smile graced Luke's lips. "Annabeth. Nice name." he took a quick glance in Percy's direction and then focused his attention to Annabeth again. "By the way, I'm Luke, Percy's bro."

"Hey!" Jason yelled from the table. "_I _am Percy's bro, _you _are Percy's brother."

Nico slapped his arm and glared at Jason. "That's basically the same thing, Sparky."

"Oh, how would you know, Death Boy?"

"Sparky."

"Zombie."

Mr. Dare cleared his throat, and the boys fell silent, though they still sent each other death glares from time to time. Percy couldn't help but grin. Then something caught his eye. He glanced at the chair next to Mrs. Dare, and found Rachel stabbing the plate with the fork. Her outfit wasn't thought out much, unlike her clothes before. It was just a simple white lace dress, and her red hair was sticking out more than usual. Percy was sure her mom would have reprimanded her for that, but by the way he saw things, he was sure Mrs. Dare did not even bother anymore.

Rachel wasn't making any eye contact with _anybody. _She was just warily stabbing and stabbing, and a pang of guilt struck Percy. He regretted his words again. But there was no time to take them back.

"Well isn't this a bit of a family reunion?" that voice made the grin on Percy's face disappear. Poseidon stood, followed by Percy's step-mom, and they pulled him into an embrace that Percy found…unnatural. His dad never hugged him. Heck, he couldn't even remember a time that he did that. At least May did that every time Percy and Luke came home from school, but Poseidon?

No way. That would have been a laugh.

May turned to Annabeth, who was standing still beside Percy, her hands playing with each other.

"Hi, Annabeth, it's nice to meet you." May smiled. "Percy has told me quite a lot about you."

"Mom that's – '' Percy stopped abruptly when his mom's words finally sank in. "_Mom!_" he protested. Mr. Dare was raising a curious brow while Rachel's eyes shot up, her attention finally gotten by the commotion. She dropped her fork and stared at Percy with wide eyes.

Annabeth, unsure of what to say, only rubbed her neck and chuckled nervously. "Ah, did he?"

"Don't mind my mom, Annabeth, she's a little on the crazy side. I never even told her anything about my new friend." Percy said, annoyed. Poseidon was now also raising a brow in curiosity.

"Oh sure, yes, don't mind me, sweetheart," May winked at Percy, and then sat back down. Then Percy caught Annabeth giving him a funny look.

"What?" he asked.

"What?"

"You're staring, Chase, I could see."

"Oh yeah? And how did you know that for sure?"

"I just saw you."

"Then you're staring, too, Jackson."

Mr. Dare cleared his throat – again. Everyone around the table was watching them like a tennis match. Rachel pursed her lips, and then suddenly burst into laughter. Annabeth and Percy shared a look, and then looked back at Rachel.

"Something funny, sweetheart?" Mr. Dare asked.

"No, dad, don't mind me." Rachel shot everyone a pleasant smile. "Now, why don't we sit and eat. I'm _dying."_

Poseidon nodded agreement. Everyone sat down, while Percy pulled a chair for Annabeth, letting her sit. "I am such a gentleman, aren't I?" he whispered. Annabeth only rolled her eyes. Then Percy pulled a chair for himself and finally, everyone was ready.

Of course with so many people at the table, the gesture did _not _go unnoticed, unfortunately for Percy. Poseidon and Mr. Dare shared knowing looks, and Percy had the feeling Rachel was avoiding eye contact since she was just across of him…who was beside Annabeth. Talking about the blonde, she wasn't just the typical not-aware girl. She, too, based from her sitting a bit apart from Percy, could feel the tension hanging _real _loosely in the air.

* * *

"So," Percy's dad began after a minute of terrible awkward silence. "Annabeth, you saved Rachel from the fire?"

"Uhm…" Annabeth started but immediately Rachel took over.

"Yes, Mr. Jackson, I thought I was gonna go barbecue back there but she saved me, when _no one_ else had the courage to do it," she explained, taking a quick glance at Percy.

Rachel's mom, oblivious to the tension, shot a warm smile towards Annabeth. "That's why we invited her tonight. Our family thanks you, Annabeth."

"Uh…it-it was nothing, ma'am – I mean, Mrs. Dare. Rachel is my friend," she replied, fumbling over her words a little. She could feel Luke's eyes on her, watching her every move, listening to her every word. She never knew Luke would be there. Now she wished she did.

"How did you meet Percy and the others?" Mrs. Dare asked. Annabeth swore she wanted to die right now. If the questions kept on coming, she surely wouldn't have the time to cover up holes in her story. She gripped the edge of her chair tightly, her expression tight. Then she heard the familiar laugh.

"Yeah, spill," Luke said. Annabeth took this as a sign that she could use whatever she had in her, and started talking, but making the story short so the damn thing could be over.

"I was walking around at night, and suddenly I passed out. I woke up in a hospital and found out Percy brought me there…after that…we met again at Goode High, when I moved schools. I also met Rachel…and they introduced me to the others."

Percy's step-mom tapped her chin with her finger. "I feel like I've heard that story before…"

"So, Annabeth, can you tell us more about yourself? What about your family?" Rachel's dad pressed. His hands were clasped together like the matter was settled, and he was leaning forward like he was eager to hear her. Annabeth stiffened. She tapped Percy's hand under the table to call for help. Percy, thankfully, got the message and beamed.

"I've met her younger sister, Mr. Dare. That girl's all awesome and cool and funny, too, right Annabeth?"

Annabeth let out a nervous laugh. "No way, Jackson, she _is _not funny at all!"

"Why don't you just agree with me for a day, Chase?"

"Oh no, I might die early, _Jackson,"_

"Haha, so funny, _Miss Know-it-All,"_

The conversation was really, really, awkward for Percy and Annabeth. But then suddenly they were completely lost into their own world again and the conversation went on smoothly.

"Now, thanks for the compliment, Kelp Head, I really appreciate it,"

"Can't you just stop the sarcasm?" Percy said, pissed, before shoving a spoonful of soup into his mouth. Annabeth rolled her eyes again.

"Who's talking, huh?"

"Hey, I gave you my coat,"

"What's that got to do with anything? And besides, you gave it to me yourself – because everyone's staring at _me." _She said with a smirk.

"And you had the audacity to call me vain back then,"

"Oh please," Annabeth pretended to be examining her nails, teasing Percy. "No one could have defeated your vainness, even me."

"That's not even a word,"

"It is a word, Percy; you can even look it up on Google. Or are you too proud to even do that?"

This time, it was Percy's dad who cleared his throat. He was coughing on his fist, to part the two from their world. Thalia looked like she was about to die from laughing.

"Told you, stop being vain, Wise Girl,"

Everybody stopped eating. They all stared at Percy, and even Thalia stopped laughing. Luke was alarmed, his icy blue eyes shooting up. He shot Annabeth a curious look, but in response she only shrugged.

Nico was the first to recover. "Dude, did you just call Annabeth 'Wise Girl?'"

Percy, oblivious as usual, raised his hands in defense of himself. "What? What did I do wrong again this time?" he asked. Annabeth had to hide her laugh behind her hand.

"Okay, I give up," Jason remarked. "Why did you give Annabeth a nickname that came from the _nickname _of a freaking killer, man?"

Usually, Annabeth would have stiffened at the mention of Code Name Wise Girl, but she guessed she was used to it. After the fire incident at Goode High, Annabeth Chase got used to hearing people talk.

Luke chuckled. "You didn't know about _Code Name Wise Girl, _Percy?" he asked, emphasizing the whole name which made Annabeth groan inwardly but shudder visibly.

Everyone around the table looked at Percy. "What?" he said, "Geez, it's not like Annabeth's the killer. I just called her Wise Girl because I thought it fit. After all, she's _Hey-Look-I'm-Smarter-Than-Teacher _so yeah. It's not like it's a big dea – oww!" he glared daggers at his step-mom who pinched his ear. Everyone burst out laughing. Percy's cheeks went beet red in embarrassment. "What did you do that for, Mom?"

May smiled sweetly. "Nothing, sweetie. I'm just sad you broke the law of not insulting women in front of many other people."

"That's not even a thing, Mom."

"Sure it is. Luke must know. Right, Luke?"

Without meaning to, Annabeth snorted out loud, which made everyone's eyes land on her. She sent apologetic smiles to them and tried her best not to go into fits of laughter. "Don't mind me, I just remembered something funny." She said. She could feel Luke's eyes burning into her. "Oh…oh yeah, please excuse me, I have to go to the washroom."

She stood up and excused herself, heading hurriedly to the washroom. Unsurprisingly, Luke followed her. They stood face-to-face, their smiling demeanor falling off.

"Enjoying the dinner, Annie?" Luke started, his expression solemn and yet his tone as dangerous as venom. He touched the braid of her hair gently. "You look good. Lemme guess, Thalia?"

"Just go, Luke, we can't afford to let them see us,"

"Oh, you're concerned about that? Why did Jackson call you _Wise Girl?"_

"Percy already explained this, Luke." She said, exasperated. "He just thought it fit. Besides, it's not like I'm going to tell him anything."

"You seem close, though,"

Annabeth didn't answer that one. She couldn't retort, or do anything. Were Percy and her close? She hated to be in denial. Yes, she wanted to say, she was feeling more and more comfortable with Percy Jackson and she didn't know why. She felt like if she continued the mission she could combust.

Why are the gods so evil to her?

Annabeth gasped when Luke pulled off the coat from her. She took a step forward to try and get it but halted immediately. She looked up at Luke, and saw he wasn't happy. His eyes swirled dangerously, and Annabeth wondered again if he was the one who tried to kill Rachel. After all, with those terrifying eyes, nothing was impossible.

"The guy even let you borrow his coat, how sweet." He cooed. "Annie, I'm really hurt."

For the first time, Annabeth didn't feel afraid of him. Instead she was angry, with a full-blown scowl on her face. She snatched the coat from Luke's grasp and put it back on her, shaking her head before walking past him.

When she came back to the table, the dinner continued. They chatted for a few hours and then when it was time to go back, everyone stood up and said goodbyes to each other. Annabeth noticed Rachel's silence throughout the whole night, while Mr. Dare was observing Annabeth the whole conversation. And Luke…she didn't even want to mention him.

"It's nice meeting you all," Annabeth said. Mr. Dare and Poseidon nodded, while Mrs. Dare and May gave her a hug. Jason and Nico gave her two thumbs-up, while Thalia pulled Annabeth into an embrace, too.

"You don't have to return the dress, Annie," she said.

"But - ''

"'S okay, don't sweat it."

"Okay."

"Percy, you coming with us, sweetie?" May inquired.

"No, Mom, I have a car. And I'll drive Annabeth home tonight." He replied. Annabeth frowned. She wanted so bad to hit Percy's head right now. Why was he so oblivious? Now Poseidon and the Dares were giving her suspicious looks.

"You don't have to, Percy. I can take a – '' Annabeth was interrupted when Percy took her hand and pulled her behind him after saying goodbye to everyone. After making sure no one was looking, he dragged Annabeth off to the car immediately, and they got on the road without a word, leaving Annabeth wondering why Percy was so anxious to leave. Because Percy wasn't uttering a word, Annabeth didn't get to do anything but stare out of the window and think about what just happened. Rachel was the only one who didn't tell her goodbye. Luke was getting suspicious of her. Poseidon Jackson and Mr. Dare seemed to not like her. Ugh, it was hell.

After a seemingly long drive back home, Percy finally pulled up near a building which Annabeth was glad to recognize as Olympus Grand. But she was a little disappointed that she never got to talk to Percy the whole drive back. It was as if Percy was avoiding a conversation to _avoid _any questions.

When the car stopped, Percy was the first to step out. He opened the door for Annabeth and she smiled at the gesture, and soon that smile turned into a grin. "You just proved me you're a gentleman, Seaweed Brain." She said.

Percy grinned. "Are you complimenting me now…Wise Girl?" he looked sheepishly at her. "Sorry, could I call you that?"

"What do you think?" she asked with a teasing smile. Percy shrugged. "Okay, call me Wise Girl. And by the way, don't let my compliment get over your head. I don't want you getting vainer than you already are."

The wider grin that formed on his face made it all worth it. "Now you're Wise Girl and I'm Seaweed Brain. It's all settled. And don't worry, I can't get any vainer than I already am. Good night, Wise Girl."

"Yeah, I enjoyed the dinner."

"Uh-huh."

"No, really. It was sort of fun. But I think I didn't leave a good first impression." she admitted.

"Don't worry, you're still the heroine who saved Rachel from the fire, so maybe that's good first impression enough to them," Percy said reassuringly.

'Well thanks. And I really did enjoy the dinner. The place was great."

Percy gave her a funny look. "You enjoyed that? Seriously?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yep. It was awkward, disastrous, and full of…tension, I guess. But at least I got to know your family and Rachel's family and had more chance to know my friends."

"Oh…" a smile tugged at the corner of Percy's lips. "As much as I wanted to just forget the thing ever happened…well…if you enjoyed it then I guess I'll be happy for you."

"What _exactly _is it that you want to forget? Is it your step-mom's revelation that you told her so much about me?" Annabeth said with a raised brow. Percy's cheeks flushed.

"You're doing this because I made you remember about last night, right?"

A gentle laugh filled the night air. The look Percy was giving her made her stop, though. "Okay, okay." She held her hands up. "Not laughing." Then she burst out laughing again. Percy groaned out loud, shaking his head like Annabeth was hopeless. "Alright, Percy, I swear, I'm not doing it again. And hey, thanks," she took off the coat and handed it back to Percy, who had an astonished look written all over his face. "What, don't tell me you forgot about it?"

"No. No way. I just thought you would like to keep the coat of the devilishly handsome guy. Y'know, as souvenir," he replied. Annabeth snickered at this. "Hey, be thankful. You're the first to receive special treatment from me."

Annabeth let out a heavy sigh. "Vain,"

"Yeah." He replied smugly, "So, see ya tomorrow?"

"Mm-hmm. Good night, Seaweed Brain. I really had a crazy day."

"Good night, Wise Girl."

And they parted with smiles on their faces. But the newfound connection brought them similar thoughts that night…

_This couldn't be good._

_**xox**_

**Whew. That was longer than intended! So...what do you think? Was it a yay? A nay? Or something in between? Either way please drop a review!**

**Have you read my two new stories, The Other Dimension and Way to Elysium? If you have, thanks! And about the chapter, I put in a lot of Percabeth so I would progress already. I am rushing stuff for a couple of chappies cuz we need to get to the bottom of this.**

**BTW forgive me for grammar/spelling mistakes. This is my longest chapter and I didn't have time to edit because I still have a lot of Homework to finish. Agh, high school's here to bug me again.**

**Our next goal? Hmm...100th reviewer. But I'll set the goal when we're close. So goodbye for now! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Love,**

**CodeNameWiseGirl**


	14. Back Together?

**Hello wonderful people of FanFiction! I want to thank everyone who reviewed. So, here it is, my reply to you, angels.**

**KaylsDaughterofHades: You rock, gurl! You are so amazing! Thanks for always supporting me and for reviewing. Your reviews are a stress reliever to me. And I love Lies, too! OMG thank you, thank you, thank you! And LET US KILL PERACHEL. Not literally, but, well...**

**musicfyre (Guest): Omigosh thanks so much! Your review means so much to me. And I'm going to try to update as fast as I can (I'm a crappy updater and I admit that).**

**Guest (Guest): You're awesome, too! **

**greekgeekgirlbro: Yep. I know the Wise Girl thing is really confusing. Heck, I didn't even think of that when I first drew the plot for this story. So when I was halfway done with the first few chapters, that's the only time I realized that 'hell, Percy had to call Annabeth Wise Girl, but that would sound like the killer' so SORRY! I ope I cleared that up for you, though :)**

**Insanelykreative3945: OMG thanks! I will be your supporter always, so please update your awesome story, please? BTW thanks for taking the time to review!**

**iluvbooks: *reads review* *smiles* *fangirl squeal* *hyperventilate* *screams in the middle of the night* *calms down* Whew, okay. All I can say is that YOU ARE AWESOME! Thank you. I hope I can reach the hundredth too. Aghh, girl, you are the best. PERCABETH ALL THE WAY! And dont you worry. I know the feeling of wanting to go back to this site but is so busy to do so. So don't sweat it! It's fine if you review late.**

**And you may now enjoy the sweet torture of a filler chapter :) Love you all!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 13**

**Back Together?**

Annabeth woke up to the bright light shooting her face. She stirred, her eyes slowly opening as she tried not to be blinded by the light. A clear look of irritation was plastered on her face, like, _how dare you wake me up this early, light. _A loud groan escaped from her lips, until she noticed a figure standing over her.

"I know you're not used to school at all, Annie, but gods, don't you have an alarm clock?" the figure spoke in a sarcastic tone that made Annabeth sit up immediately. She found Shenaree in her bedroom, all dressed with a backpack slinging over her shoulder.

"What time is it?" Annabeth asked frantically.

"Don't worry, you're not late yet, but if I hadn't woken you up, you could be," Shenaree answered sarcastically, rolling her eyes and putting her hands to her hips.

"How did you get in my room?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe you got home so late last night that you got tired and forgot to lock the freaking door,"

Annabeth threw a pillow at her sister and slipped out of the bed, opening the closet and taking out clothes to wear for school. After a quick dress up she went to the kitchen to eat breakfast. Shenaree was already there, helping herself with bacons and hotdogs. She looked up at Annabeth, shaking her head as she sat at the table, before focusing her attention on her plate again.

"You aren't one to wake up late,"

"I just forgot to set the alarm clock," Annabeth said.

"But that's it. You _forgot. _We both know that you don't easily forget stuff. Are you sure you're okay, Annie? Aren't you sick?"

"I'm fine,"

"Oh yeah, you're fine." Shenaree said with a grin.

"What does that mean?"

"You said you were going to have dinner with a friend's family because you saved her from a fire at school," she said. Annabeth nodded slowly, carefully anticipating where the conversation was going. Shenaree smirked. "Didn't you just have a date with Percy Jackson?"

That earned her a pinch from Annabeth.

"Are you crazy?!" Annabeth shrieked, but the blush on her cheeks dominating her emotions as she started to remember what occurred last night. She shook the thoughts away. "Percy has a _fiancée, _Shen, for Heaven's sake. And she is the _friend _I saved from the fire,"

Shenaree, however, ignored her. She went on eating breakfast like she heard nothing, making Annabeth roll her eyes at her sister.

Then on the table, Annabeth's phone buzzed.

Shenaree's eyes popped open. "Ooh! Ooh! Gotcha," she quickly grabbed Annabeth's phone, and then stared down at it with wide eyes. Annabeth tried to snatch it from her – but to no avail. She started worrying. What if Luke had texted her and Shenaree saw it? She tried to reach her sister, but the table separating them didn't help.

"Give it back, Shen,"

"Oh no, I am absolutely reading this text from an unknown number – '' Shenaree stopped, and then backed away a little. "_'Hey Wise Girl,'" _she read out loud. Annabeth stopped reaching, her mouth falling open when she realized who had just texted. A wide grin spread across Shenaree's face as she continued to read through the text. "'_This is Percy.' _Gods, he calls you 'Wise Girl'? Isn't that the name of a killer?"

"Give the _damn _phone to me, Shenaree Allison Chase."

"Ooh, I don't know, what will you do if I don't give it back?"

"I'll put a spider in your sheets at night when you're sleeping,"

Shenaree snorted derisively. "Don't use the spider trick on me, Annie. You know you're afraid of it, too."

"Shenaree!" Annabeth chased her sister, but she ran to her bedroom and locked the door. Annabeth knocked continuously, shouting warnings and cursing.

"Yeah, where was I again?" Annabeth heard Shenaree saying. "'_Don't ask me how I got your number. Tell you later at school. See ya'. _Oh, should I reply?"

"Shenaree!"

"Hmm, maybe I should not. Annabeth!" she yelled from the room. "I'll read more of this later, 'mkay?"

A _thud _was heard when Annabeth's forehead made contact with the door. A couple of seconds later Shenaree walked out of the room and handed her the phone. She clutched it tightly like it was the most important thing ever.

"So Percy's got your number. That means more oversleeping for you, huh?"

Annabeth glared at her. "Sometimes you get so annoying, you know that?"

"I'll take that as a yes,"

But Annabeth couldn't help it. She smiled, and much to Shenaree's disappointment she didn't respond. Instead she hugged her goodbye and slung her backpack over her shoulder, believing school would be much better than staying at home with her annoying younger sister.

* * *

Percy adjusted his shirt for like, the millionth time this morning, frowning as he looked at himself in the mirror. Of course his hair did nothing to his self-esteem. It was messy as ever – with a few stubborn ones that kept sticking up no matter how much _hair gel _he put.

"This better be real" a sweet voice said behind him. Percy turned around so fast in shock that he almost had a heart attack. There was his step-mom, standing over the doorway, with a bright smile on her face that told Percy he had just been busted.

"H-hey, Mom,"

"Don't be afraid. Boys just really get mature. It's natural,"

"Umm…"

"You know, I feel like you're starting to change. For the best, of course," his step-mom said. Percy frowned, confused. His step-mom chuckled. "I've never seen you try to look good before. Not that you don't look good, what I mean is…_this." _She picked up the bottle that contained the gel Percy was using on his hair a while ago. "Usually you don't take time fixing yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm quite sure it's all because of a girl," May replied, smiling. "And I'm quite sure it's not Rachel…since you never did anything like this when you got engaged."

Percy sighed. To be honest, he didn't know why he was doing things all of a sudden, too.

"Mom, if dad hears you, he's gonna kill me," he said, making a face on the mention of his dad. Then his eyes landed on the phone lying on the bed. Still no reply. He had just sent a message to Annabeth and he was waiting for a reply ever since. _Dang, Percy, _he told himself.

"Gosh child, whatever should I do to you?" May shook her head sympathetically. "Does it really matter? By hiding the seal you already disobeyed your dad."

Percy froze. The seal was something he refused to talk about, especially to his family members. But he wasn't offended by his mom. After all, he _did _hide the thing.

"The engagement with Rachel is final, Mom," he said. "The seal is one thing. It's something I insanely didn't want."

"Or is it the other way around? Things looked pretty bad last night. And you have to know that Mr. Dare isn't happy with you running off with that girl – I believe her name's Annabeth – too."

When Annabeth's name popped out, it caused Percy's insides to boil. He gritted his teeth in anger – and yes, he was angry. He was angry at the gods who seemed to enjoy making his life suck. He was angry at his dad who did everything to make his life suck.

"Annabeth's my _friend, _Mom. And she saved Rachel. Mr. Dare should be _happy. _After all, this engagement wouldn't be happening without his daughter,"

"Percy…"

"Can I go now?" he asked, looking at his watch.

Before his step mother could even open her mouth to answer, Percy grabbed his phone from the bed and walked past her, wanting to make sure she didn't ask more questions. He was going downstairs when his phone buzzed from his pocket. He fished it out and saw Annabeth had a reply.

_Nice timing, Wise Girl, _he thought, grinning.

And the anger he had earlier seemed to be fading…somehow.

* * *

Annabeth didn't know if she was dizzy, or stupid, or out of her mind when she sent a reply to Percy. Of course it only seemed to be the right thing to do. She couldn't just _ignore _him. It was just a simple 'okay', but she walked the bland halls of Goode High while ruffling her blond curls – which might have made her look like a total nut.

On her way to her locker she managed to catch some students whispering when they saw her. Annabeth ignored them. After the Music room incident, she knew people would talk. So she just opened her locker and took out her thick Chemistry textbook, and closing the locker again to find a guy leaning against the locker next to hers. He had messy black hair and sea green eyes which Annabeth had been oh-so-familiar with.

"Morning, Wise Girl," Percy Jackson greeted. "Slept well last night?"

"Why would I not sleep well?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe you stayed up late thinking of the handsome gentleman who escorted you home."

"I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but I didn't."

"Aww…can't you play along just once, Wise Girl?"

"How did you get my number?"

"Thalia told me," Percy admitted, blushing beet red at the same time.

"There's a reliable source," Annabeth said, sighing, as she walked to her first class with Percy in tow. He walked behind her…no…he couldn't keep up with her. Annabeth was just walking too fast. But he managed to catch up with her, finally deciding to use his head and running to get to her side.

"Hey, what's up?" he inquired. There were worry lines forming on his forehead, and his eyes narrowed. Annabeth's mind was invaded with strings and strings of thoughts. Her chest was weighed down with different emotions.

She remembered how dangerous Luke stared at her, how venomous his voice was when he talked about her closeness to Percy. She remembered the fire that almost consumed Rachel. She remembered the suspicious looks Mr. Dare gave her…

Was it a bad decision to become truly friends with Percy?

Annabeth felt if she continued it, many more will be hurt – her friends, Rachel, and even Shenaree. But then again...

"Wise Girl, if you're not arguing then I'll interpret it as you admitting defeat," Percy said. Annabeth jerked her head towards him, giving him a mock look of disbelief.

Percy made her smile.

**xox**

Annabeth gasped, "I am _not _admitting defeat to you, Seaweed Brain!"

Percy breathed a sigh of relief when Annabeth spoke. To be honest, he was holding his breath the whole time. He was real afraid that he'd done something wrong.

"That's more like you, Wise Girl," he said, grinning.

"Well, I'm off to class, Percy, see you later." Annabeth said as she was walking away, "And don't stalk me too much! As if getting my number wasn't enough…"

Percy laughed. It wasn't forced laughter, or a half-hearted one since he was in an incredibly bad mood. It was genuine, pleasant laughter.

He ran off to go to his first class, too, with a smile playing on his lips.

* * *

"Annabeth Chase!" a voice bellowed. Annabeth turned, meeting a brownish-reddish haired girl who she recognized as Drew Tanaka. Everyone around ran towards the direction of the school cafeteria, and knowing Goode, something must have come up again. Drew was, for the first time (and to Annabeth's surprise), was wearing 'normal' clothes…which included a Chambray button down and jeans.

"Sup, Drew?" Annabeth said casually, trying to play it cool with the girl.

"How did you do it?" Drew asked, curiosity lacing in her voice. Annabeth scratched the top of her head, at first wanting to punch Drew for playing the pronoun game with her, but then suddenly realizing the girl was genuinely curious.

"What…what did I do?"

"You don't know? You must be kidding," Drew said in disbelief, her hands finding their way to her hips. Annabeth shook her head, which made the look on Drew's face fall off. "Oh…"

"Drew, can you please tell me what's happening now?"

"Chase, you are one lucky girl to be part of Percy's circle. Everybody's talking about that group…but what could arouse more taking about them?"

"Don't tell me the commotion at the cafeteria is related to that…" Annabeth's eyes widened as the answer dawned on her. "Rachel…"

Drew nodded.

Annabeth ran past Drew and made her way towards the cafeteria, where half the school population crowded. It was even bigger than the time the Music room burnt up. And they were all staring at one particular table – where five familiar figures sat.

"Hey Annabeth," a red headed girl, Rachel, stood. "The group's officially back."

Now, Annabeth had seen the group together at the dinner, but to see them all together at school was shocking for Annabeth as it was for the entire population of Goode High. The silence was broken when Thalia let out an awkward laugh. She tapped the seat next to her.

"Annie! Come sit here," she invited. Annabeth complied, sitting beside Thalia and Percy. Everyone's eyes were settled on their table, but the rest of the group didn't seem to care. They were used to it, to everyone staring at them.

And at that moment, Annabeth knew the mission was a go.

"Wise Girl, what'd you got for lunch?" Percy suddenly asked, causing everybody at the table to flinch. He sent a smile her way before attacking the pasta on his plate. Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Um, I'll get a salad,"

"I'm coming with you," Rachel said. The two girls slipped out of their seats and walked towards the lunch line, where a few students made way for them. As they were getting their food from the lunch lady, Rachel nudged Annabeth. "Hey," she said.

"Hey,"

"Is it really shocking for us to join Percy?" Rachel whispered.

"Well…maybe it is for the others. It's not for me. I mean, I don't even know what happened to you guys so how would I be shocked?"

Rachel pursed her lips. She was silent for a minute, until they got out from the line and walked back to the table. "Annabeth, if I told you I'm sure you'd change your opinion of me. I don't want that to happen."

"What you might have done would never measure up to what I did," Annabeth mumbled.

"Sorry, what?"

"Nothing." Annabeth said, smiling. "And by the way, you don't have to worry. We all make mistakes. I'm not one to judge."

"Oh."

"And Rachel?"

"Yeah?"

"We are friends and nothing could change that,"

When they got back to their table, everyone seemed to be lighthearted. Nico and Jason were back to cracking jokes, and Thalia was rolling her eyes at them. Even Rachel was laughing once in a while. Percy was grinning at his pasta, as if he knew something it didn't. Annabeth had to smile. She figured if this peace won't last for long, she'd better enjoy it.

"Hey hey," Jason called out. "What would you guys do for Halloween?"

Nico shrugged. "My room's creepy enough for Halloween. Guess I'll stay there all day,"

"Aww, you're no fun, di Angelo," Jason whined. "Why don't we go dress up and knock on doors for candies?"

"What are you, a kid?" Thalia asked, hitting her brother on the head.

"'Ey, where's the fun if we don't do something crazy?"

Thalia raised her hands. All heads turned to her.

"Well why don't we just hang out and watch scary movies?" she suggested, grinning cheekily. "Like, we can stay do that at Annabeth's place."

Jason perked up, nodding, and seeming happy about the idea. "Nice, Thals. We could meet Annabeth's sister,"

Annabeth frowned, pointing to herself, while mouthing, _Me?_Jason nodded again.

"But Jason, it's - '' Annabeth started complaining, but Thalia took over.

"Two could go shopping for stuff before the camping." she said with an enthusiastic smile. "Percy and Annabeth could do that for us."

"What?" both teens said in unison. Thalia waved her hand like the decision was final, and continued eating her chocolate cake. Percy and Annabeth shared confused looks. "Why do I have to shop?" Percy muttered huffily.

"I still prefer staying in my room," Nico grumbled.

"Don't sweat it, Ghost Boy," Thalia patted Nico's back reassuringly. "It's gonna be fun, I promise."

"But does it have to be at my place?" Annabeth asked with a visible worried look.

"Um...I forbid people to see my room..." Jason replied, chuckling nervously. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, because you don't want them to know you're a geek,"

"Hey! At least I'm organized. And I'm not the only one who is hiding something. You have this closet which contains this My Little Pony doll - ''

Thalia clamped her hand over Jason's mouth. She hit his head again and gave him a deadly glare. "Don't-You-_Dare-_Say-Another-Word..." she warned, her tone seething with anger. Jason, who was sweating violently, nodded and Thalia let go of him. She eyed each and everyone of them, daring them to say a word about it.

"And you don't want to stay in mine," Nico added, which kinda saved them from Thalia's wrath.

"My dad doesn't allow too much noise." said Percy.

"Um, we can't stay at my place, too." Rachel said.

"So! It's settled, then?" Jason asked hopefully.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"I still don't want to go shopping," Percy said.

And everyone burst out laughing.

* * *

**First of all, *sighs* I wanna tell you guys that I used the name 'Shenaree' in honor of one of my annoying best friends Sheena and my equally annoying cousin Reese. I swear those two are cut from the same cloth. So, to create a personality for Annabeth's sister, I combined their names and attitudes and now we have Shenaree.**

**Next, um, sorry for the filler chapter. I don't want to keep on posting fillers so the next chappie is going to be the starting point of some action...maybe. **

**Third, yes, there's a reference to the seal.**

**Fourth, Annabeth mentioned that the mission was a go. Remember that chapter where Annabeth waits for the group to unite so she could continue the mission? Now that they have done that she knows that the mission is on.**

**Fifth, OOC alert for Jason and Nico here. Guess I dont have an excuse for that.**

**Wooo, that's all for the clearing-ups and reminders. Thanks for all the support, I deeply appreciate it! And since I'm really busy these days, I think updates would come in a bit slower. Sorry! And thanks to you angels who reviewed, followed, and clicked the favorite button. You guys are awesome.**


	15. A Day Out

**Hiya lovelies! Just wanna thank you all for the awesome reviews. Of course those who clicked the favorite/follow are appreciated too, you all know that :) Thanks to iluvbooks, KaylsDaughterofHades, Insanelykreative3945, theflash9889, greekgeekgirlbro, and a Guest for the reviews!**

**And enjoy!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 14**

**A Day Out**

Annabeth _hated _iced coffees. In addition to tasting awfully bitter, the thing made her dizzy. If she would be completely honest, she'd say she hated iced coffee as much as she hated those large, hairy creepy-crawlies also known as _spiders. _And that was a big deal for her.

But whatever, she's drinking it anyways.

"Annabeth, are you okay?" Percy asked, his voice dragging her back to reality. Annabeth looked up from her drink warily, her vision still a little blurry from waking up at seven o'clock when she stayed up until _2 am _to finish a boatload of homework. She could only imagine how big the dark circles would be under her eyes.

"Huh?" she asked, obviously out of it. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focus on the person in front of her.

It actually worked.

"Did I wake you up too early?" Percy's eyes narrowed. "Sorry, I thought I'd have breakfast with you. Everyone's out of the house this morning."

"No, no. We're buying snacks for the sleepover anyway…" Annabeth made a face at the iced coffee. "But Starbucks for breakfast just isn't my cup of tea."

"It's the iced coffee isn't it," Percy guessed with a knowing smile.

"Well it could use a little sugar," Annabeth shrugged. "No – scratch that. It's gonna need _more _than just a little sugar."

"I couldn't agree more," Percy grinned as he moved the half-drunk cup of iced coffee to the center of the table. "What do you say we go to McDonald's, Wise Girl?" he said, waving a couple of coupons with his hand.

Annabeth had a mischievous smirk on her face.

"That is the wisest plan I've ever heard."

* * *

McDonald's was crowded at exactly seven-twenty in the morning. It was a tough battle but she and Percy had finally found a booth, which was at the loneliest corner of the place. Then there was a baby crying loudly next to them, and the endless mumbling of the people around didn't exactly help. Their table wasn't better than their booth at Starbucks earlier, but they'll live.

"At least we have decent food," Percy remarked, as if reading her mind. "I've been longing for cheeseburger and fries."

Annabeth stabbed the salad on her plate absent-mindedly, an amused smile on her face. "Sometimes I forget that you're actually a multi-millionaire's heir," she said.

"What? So you think that because I'm some rich jerk's son I have to act like some cool jerk too who won't eat at McDonald's because I can even afford to actually buy McDonald's?" he asked her, his tone and expression disbelieving. Annabeth bit her lip, trying to contain the hysterical laughter that was about to burst. The look on Percy's face was just _priceless. _"You're laughing," he said.

"No," Annabeth answered defensively.

"Yes you are," Percy pointed his fork accusingly at her. "You're biting your lip."

"No! What's the lip-biting got to do with anything anyways?"

"Wise Girl, in case no one told you, you actually bite your lip before you laugh out loud,"

"I do that?" she asked him, baffled.

"Yeah, and then for your information – that is if you still don't know because no one ever bothered to even tell you – you have a habit of pushing your hair back to your ear,"

"Wow, Seaweed Brain, you have actually managed to learn a few things about me," Annabeth told him sarcastically, which earned her a cocky smirk from him.

"I have also learned that that is your way of complimenting me…or anyone else for that matter," he said.

Annabeth snickered. "You wish."

Percy wiggled his eyebrows at her, "Let's play 20 Questions game then, so no one makes wild guesses about each other." He suggested, grinning cheekily. Annabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Add that to the list of the _things-she-never-got-to-do-since-she-was-ten. _But then again, when her friends were with her, everything felt perfectly normal…even though it wasn't and it would never be.

"So, who asks the first?" she said, distracting herself from all the negative thoughts on her mind.

"You technically just did," Percy pointed out, looking at Annabeth, who was sitting across from him. Annabeth pushed back a strand of loose hair to her ear. Percy burst out laughing. "See! You did it again! That pushing-your-hair-back thing!" he exclaimed happily, punching the air like he was watching his favorite basketball team rip the opponents' faces off. That earned them a few angry glances.

"So can we play now?" she asked, annoyed.

"Okay, me first. What's your favorite color?"

Annabeth snorted derisively. "Gray. What else," she mumbled.

"Mine's blue," Percy replied.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Typical for boys, huh?" she said. She remembered that Luke liked that color, too. She guessed it had something to do with the eyes.

"No, it's not really like, automatic, for me. I loved green, but then I started to like blue because of blue food,"

"Blue food?" Annabeth asked, curiosity laced in her voice. As soon as she said it, Percy's expression softened.

"My mom and I had this weird argument about blue food. I said there can be no such thing, but my mom was persistent. From then on, she made blue cupcakes, pancakes, birthday cakes…" he trailed off. The sadness and wistfulness in his deep green eyes told Annabeth that he really did love his mom a lot.

Both teens jumped at the sound of a phone ringing.

Annabeth realized it was her phone. She brought it out of her jean pocket and saw that it was Thalia calling. Picking up the call, she answered, "Hello?"

"_Annie!" _Thalia exclaimed over the phone. Annabeth could hear things smashing and glass breaking, along with a woman's voice yelling _get out! _

"Um, is everything okay there, Thalia?" Annabeth inquired, brows creasing slightly. Percy immediately perked up at the mention of Thalia's name.

"_Oh, yeah, never mind that, I'm definitely fi – ''_ Thalia broke off, her voice replaced by loud smashing and yelling. All Annabeth heard from Thalia was a muttered _it was just a raisin. _

"Thalia, where are you?" Annabeth questioned, now with a funny look on her face. Percy was grinning as he listened in to the conversation.

"_The freaking insane asylum, Annie. I can't believe this is what I get for eating one raisin! It was _one _raisin, Annabeth! One! For gods' sake," _Thalia said indignantly. Another scream cut through the line, followed by an exasperated groan from Thalia. _"Listen, Annie. Is my dumbass of a cousin with you?" _

Annabeth nodded, but realized Thalia couldn't see her. So she answered, "Yep."

"_Good. I bet you're still not buying anything, but are eating breakfast," _

"How'd you know?" Annabeth asked, smiling faintly.

She could practically see the smug smile on Thalia's face. _"Let's just say that no one would ever know him better than I would," _she said with a chuckle. _"Anyway can you tell him to pick me up at this fucken hellhole as fast as he can?"_

"Okay,"

With that, Thalia hung up. Annabeth looked up at Percy again.

"Thalia wants you to pick her up," she told him. It was amusing to watch Percy's eyebrows get scrunched together in annoyance.

"What does she think of me, her personal driver? She's got one already and she's still pestering me," he ranted, putting down his cheeseburger as if he'd lost interest in eating it.

"But you're still going to do it, right?"

Percy ran his hand through his messy dark hair. "You got me." He said, smirking. "So where do I pick up Pinecone Face?"

"The _fucken hellhole, _she said," Annabeth tapped her chin. "The insane asylum, I think."

"Oh. That place again huh."

Sighing and rolling his eyes, Percy brushed his green T-shirt from invisible crumbs, and then stood up. Annabeth followed his example, and the two made their way out of McDonald's and to Percy's car.

* * *

Annabeth stepped out of the car, breathing heavily. She was feeling nauseous, as if she'd drunk another cup of iced coffee. The buildings that surrounded the city spun so widely she felt like throwing up.

When Percy slammed the car door shut, he turned to see Annabeth glaring daggers at him.

"You're a mad driver!" Annabeth gripped the edge of the car to keep herself up.

"I know!" Percy agreed proudly, patting his car with a cheeky grin.

A groan escaped from her lips. Even though she was dizzy, she remembered every little detail of her death ride with the one and only Percy Jackson.

"_AHHHHH!" _

_The car accelerated as soon as Percy got on the wheel. Many vehicles were on their way, but he drove past them like some jerk would do. The car swerved past a BMW which scared the hell out of Annabeth since the space they drove past by was too narrow. The meter went from 60…80…_

"_YOU'RE A SEAWEED BRAIN! YOU'RE CRA – AHH!" _

"_Thalia did say to come as fast as we can, didn't she?" _

"_But she didn't say to go this fa – watch it!" _

_Percy avoided the cab in front of them in an amazing and yet utterly terrifying speed._

_She felt her stomach turn at the sight of different buildings in one second. The car changed lanes again in lightning speed, which almost threw Annabeth forward. With shaking hands, she tried to put her seatbelt on – to no avail. She'd seen Phoebe drive faster than this. Luke wasn't any better. But watching is different from actually riding it. _

_They took a sharp turn before coming to an abrupt stop._

She was jarred back to reality when she heard yelling, and Thalia ran out from what Annabeth assumed was an apartment, with a wild look in her electric blue eyes. Her spiky black hair was sticking out more than usual. Annabeth took time to take in her tattered black leather jacket and jeans, and the ankle-length black boots.

"That-that woman is…" Thalia got to them, out of breath. Meanwhile Percy folded his arms and shook his head at his cousin disapprovingly. Thalia stared at him. "What?" she questioned. "Do I have chocolate on my face? Cause I know I have."

"'Til when do I have to do this for you, Thalia? I'm not your get-away driver," he said, ignoring Thalia's earlier question.

_Get-away?_

Thalia held her hand up, looking irritated and anxious. "I'll answer any question later. For now, get us to the mall or experience the wrath of the crazy raisin woman."

As if on cue, a woman with an overteased corona of dyed blond curls stuck her head out the window, shouting, "Don't come back here!" Then the woman threw a box of empty cereal in their direction, although missing the target as it landed a few centimeters away from them.

"I won't!" Thalia shouted back.

Percy opened the door of the backseat and let Annabeth and Thalia in, then he went to the driver's seat and sped away.

...

To say they just argued would be an understatement. The three of them were trying to kill each other at the grocery. Percy wanted a bottle of Coke for the drinks, Annabeth wanted hot chocolate, and Thalia wanted raisin…which wasn't a drink…but it was Thalia Grace so Annabeth wasn't surprised at all.

"Everyone loves a refreshing drink!" Percy argued, crossing his arms huffily.

"Seaweed Brain, it's getting colder now-a-days so a hot beverage is better," Annabeth countered. It was a card she used over and over again to convince the cousins to get hot chocolate for drinks.

"_No," _Thalia shook her head. "_Raisins."_

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "That's not even a drink, Thals."

"And what's up with raisins anyway?" Percy asked, frowning.

"You know that woman – she's my and Jason's so called _mom. _She's always drunk and a bit on the crazy side – you know, that's why I call her apartment the insane asylum – and I sometimes break in and steal food just to annoy her," Thalia explained, sounding as if it was the most obvious and normal thing in the world. "I want to shower myself with raisins while she watches."

Percy snorted. "And that would just be wicked."

"What if we just go our own ways?" Annabeth suggested. "Then let's meet here when we're done."

Shrugging her shoulders, Thalia said, "No problem."

And that's what happened. Annabeth took her own cart and moved along the grocery, picking stuff that the gang might like…_no, _she thought, _not gang. _Her _friends. _There was a big difference.

"Annabeth?"

A familiar voice called out.

She froze on her tracks, gripping the can in her hand until her knuckles turned white. _Not now, _she thought. _Not today, please. _

"Annabeth, that's you, right?" the voice spoke again.

This time, she looked up, coming face to face with the only Luke Castellan. She snorted. _What are the chances, right? _Annabeth wasn't really in the mood (and she wasn't interested) to see Luke right now. But there was something worth noting about him.

He looked…well, perfectly normal. Like some normal 18 year old and not someone who helps his step-father run the family company and leads a gang of…people like her. He wore jeans and a white polo with the top button loose, and sneakers.

Luke gave her a dry smile. "Why are you here?"

Suddenly, the realization that _Luke is here _struck her. Panic welled in her chest. "Luke, I, um, uh…you can't be here," she said, which must have sounded stupid because it wasn't like Luke can't be at a mall. He stared at her, puzzled. Annabeth looked around, making sure no one would hear. She whispered, "I'm with Percy and Thalia."

"Why – ''

Too late.

"Luke? What are you doing here?"

Both Annabeth and Luke froze.

**xox**

**And…CLIFFHANGER! Okay so it wasn't really a big cliffhanger. It's a cliffhanger for a filler chapter. It's like a bridge to more important things so yep, filler. It's been long since I've updated this story though! I feel so sad. I hope you're still with me because the next, next chapter and onwards will be a bit important. Still, I hope you enjoy, lovelies! And if you have time, please drop in a review, too :)**


	16. A Revelation - Or Two

**Time for shout-outs! I'm pleased to announce that we have reached the 100th review mark! I love you all so much, you adorable fluffy Percabeth lovers you. **

**Guest (Guest): You'll find out the small reason Luke's there in this chapter :)**

**SecretlyAddictedtoPJO: Okay, first of all, I _really _love your username. It's subtle and yet it isn't ;) Haha, thanks for liking this story! Here's a cookie for you (::) (::)**

**Guest (Guest): CONGRATULATIONS AND THANK YOU for being the 100th reviewer! I love you sooooo much. I half-hoped you had an account so I can read your stories but never mind that, I still love you. You are a wonderful human being (you all are, guys). And as random as this is, I am secretly in love with the word 'fantabulous' so thanks for that 3 **

**KaylsDaughterofHades: Here's the update :) I just LOVE seeing your reviews. They make me smile. Oh and I've read the ending of Youthful Times! Just letting you know that it was FUN-TASTIC.**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 15**

**A Revelation – Or Two**

"Luke, what are you doing here?"

Annabeth's blood froze inside her body, her breathing silent and shallow – it was as if she was on one of those "missions" again…crawling through vents and making as little noise as possible. It was Percy's voice. She recognized without even looking to confirm. Luke looked like he could kill Percy right there and then – and Annabeth knew he could, just that…there was something to finish first. And she was not even sure if she could do it.

Thalia broke the ice, "Nice shoes, Luke," she said, but didn't sound exactly pleased. In fact, she sounded like she despised Luke more than anyone else. Well Annabeth wasn't surprised. Thalia was like this to everyone anyway.

Grinning, Luke said, "You flatter my shoes too much, Thals," he said sarcastically.

Thalia glared at him. "Don't call me that. You don't have the right to," she growled, almost as if forgetting Annabeth's and Percy's presence.

Luke shrugged, "Not really."

Annabeth rolled her eyes mentally, knowing that those two words really meant: _No, I can call you anything I want and you can't say anything about it or you'll go to Hades the hard way. _It was so funny that she could decipher his _secret _messages so easily now.

"How's Aunt Beryl?" Luke asked casually. _Aunt Beryl, _Annabeth suppressed the urge to snort. She always wondered if Luke considered acting as a profession. She thought he would be _great _at it.

Thalia immediately stiffened, her electric blue orbs narrowed and her expression tight. Annabeth noticed the box of raisins crumpling a bit in her hand.

"Uh…but why are you here, Luke?" Percy asked again. That broke the tension, thank the gods. Luke stared at Percy for a while, as if still processing the fact that he was there.

"I'mwithKelli," the blue eyed boy mumbled, his face falling off as he did.

"Speak up, you ass," Thalia grumbled. Annabeth found it amazing that she could order Luke around without any hesitation, but maybe that was because she didn't know Luke's true nature. But to be honest, Annabeth loved this girl.

Luke grimaced, "I'm with Kelli," he spoke, lowering his gaze.

"Ooh, that must suck," Percy commented, shaking his head with a sympathetic look on his face. "Mom put you up on another blind date?"

_Blind date? _

Luke looked up at Percy, smiling bitterly. "Guess they're arranging our future for us, huh?" he took a quick glance at Annabeth. "Pray tell me. What are you guys doing here?"

"None of your business," Thalia responded just before Percy could speak.

"We're going to stay the night at Annabeth's place," Percy said, shooting Thalia a confused look. He must have been just as confused as Annabeth was about this whole drama. The dark haired girl shrugged indifferently.

"Ah…" Luke said slowly, his gaze fixated on Annabeth. "You told dad?"

Laughing bitterly, Percy said, "Nah, he could care less." He turned to Annabeth. "Hey, Wise Girl, this is my brother – ''

"_Half-_brother," Thalia corrected, rather rudely.

"This is Luke, you remember?" Percy continued, ignoring Thalia.

Annabeth smiled. "Of course."

"Enough introductions. As much as we want to talk more to you, we have to go," Thalia said. Annabeth could feel the girl's grip tighten on her arm.

Luke raised a not-so-curious eyebrow, "In a rush?" he asked.

"_Yes._" Thalia replied, looking like she wanted to spit on Luke's face so much. She marched away angrily, dragging Annabeth along with her. "Kelp Head, come on," she told Percy.

"But why? We just got here," he said.

"_Reasons," _Thalia said indignantly. She shot Luke a withered look, and when she spoke, her voice got lower. "Reasons," she repeated before also dragging Percy by the arm.

**xox**

"This is life," Thalia said enthusiastically, holding up the plastic full of raisins in her hand, while they walked the hall to Annabeth's apartment.

Annabeth shook her head. "We went there for food and all you bought was raisin."

"Annie, this is food, too," Thalia countered, her face practically lighting up. She seemed to have forgotten about their little encounter with Luke…

She shook her head. This was not the time to think about that now.

Percy popped a chip into his mouth, "I love Wal-Mart," he said, grinning.

"All you did was get free samples," Annabeth reminded him, sighing. Their detour to a local Wal-Mart had been more disastrous than their run-in with Luke. Thalia grabbed as many raisins as she could while Percy ran around looking for stalls with 'Free Samples' sign. Annabeth shuddered. She was like a mom that time, slapping Percy's hand when he tried to put three bottles of Coke and a big bag of chips into the basket. In the end, Annabeth had to get the chips for Percy and the raisins for Thalia. She swore to herself that she would never go to Wal-Mart with those two again.

"Wise Girl, that is the beauty of Wal-Mart," Percy insisted, holding his hands up dramatically.

"We shouldn't even have three bottles of Coke," she nagged. "It's unhealthy."

"But you bought the healthy ones anyways so what's the point?" he argued, a disgusted look on his face as he took out the greens with only his pointing finger and thumb. "Ew," he said childishly.

Annabeth groaned. "Exactly. What's the point in buying healthy food if you're gonna eat the unhealthy ones anyway?"

Thalia burst out laughing.

Annabeth and Percy's heads snapped towards her at the same time. "What?" they both asked.

Thalia cracked a smile, "Nothing."

Shrugging her shoulders, Annabeth tossed out the key to Percy. It hit his chest and he gasped out in shock, the bag of chips in his hand falling on the floor. She smirked at his antics. He picked up the key and then glared daggers at her.

"What's the idea?" he asked, annoyed.

"Open the door, Seaweed Brain," she gestured to the box she was holding then to the door.

"Really? That was it? Couldn't you have just told me?"

Annabeth nodded.

Grumbling, Percy walked over to the door and opened it. He stepped aside and bowed, "Walk in, Your Highness." He rolled his eyes as Annabeth walked in regally, her head higher. Thalia came in next, stopping beside Percy and patting his shoulder, "What?" he asked.

Thalia chuckled lightheartedly, "You're cute."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" he frowned. "Or an insult?"

"Could be both," Thalia said, winking.

* * *

When Annabeth walked in, she almost dropped the box. In the living room, three people sat on the cushions, their legs folded beneath their feet, playing cards she recognized as Uno cards.

"Wow guys, you're early," Thalia said, walking over to Annabeth's side.

Rachel looked up at them, her eyes – the color of sea green, like Percy's – wary. Her hair was as frizzy as usual, and Annabeth kind of sympathized for the girl. She understood the feeling of not even bothering to comb her hair. "Hey," she said sleepily. "What took you guys so long?"

"But what are you guys doing here so early?" Annabeth questioned.

"Ask _them," _Rachel said, bobbing her head towards Jason and Nico. Rachel looked as tired as hell, Annabeth noticed. There were bags under her eyes – and they were darker than before. Jason stared at Thalia, then shook his head disapprovingly.

"You broke into mom's house again, didn't you," he guessed.

Nico snickered, "Thalia, you are as unbelievable as my dad's boxers," he remarked. Thalia rolled her eyes. Nico gave her a ghastly smile, "I'm serious."

Thalia held her fist up, "Di Angelo – ''

She was cut off with a gasp. Everyone flinched, even Annabeth. She turned to see Percy standing behind her and Thalia, his mouth shaped into an 'O'. "How are you even here?" he asked.

Jason held up his card. His face brightened up. He stood, waving his cards triumphantly with a grin on his face. "I win!" he declared loudly. Rachel rolled her eyes and set down her own set of cards.

"Excitement," Rachel sighed. "Jason and Nico thought it would be a good idea to come early so we can enjoy more time of the day."

"How did you even get in?" Thalia asked. She sat down next to Jason (who was still grinning like an idiot) and cleaned up the table.

"The pretty girl let us in," Nico said. "The blonde one with grey eyes like Annabeth's – that must be your sister?"

Annabeth nodded.

"Well, she asked us to tell you she's staying over at a friend's tonight," Nico added.

Annabeth almost shouted _again? _if Percy hadn't tapped her shoulder.

* * *

"Oh my gods you really did that?!" Thalia roared in laughter as she pointed a finger at the dark-haired boy. "You –'' she cut off on every word with a laugh. Percy's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

Annabeth folded her arms and shook her head, but she couldn't quite contain the smile that was forming on her lips. The six were gathered around the dining table that afternoon, playing Truth or Chew On Nico's Dad's Boxers (don't ask her what in Olympus that game was, she had no idea either). They'd spin the Coke bottle that they had drained earlier while taking on a snack, and whoever it pointed to would choose whether to answer a question from the others or "chew" on the boxers of Nico's dad which, according to Nico, he had stolen from his dad's closet.

She cringed at the thought of actually getting near the thing.

"Okay, Thals, it's your turn," Nico said with a devilish look in his eyes. Thalia smacked her forehead in frustration. "So…I know you won't want your biggest secrets revealed. Percy, what's the specialty for tonight?"

Percy snickered. "Hades Di Angelo Boxers – still fresh from the pants, Sir," he said in a bad imitation of the Italian accent. Annabeth rolled her eyes, knowing Percy was getting revenge on his cousin for embarrassing him about the football team thingy earlier. Then he stared straight into Annabeth's eyes, cracking that good old grin of his. Even now that they were friends, she still couldn't make more than five seconds of eye contact with him. It always felt…right…and at the same time wrong.

Thalia shrieked, "No! Truth, I choose Truth!"

Percy's face fell. "Aw, I wanted you to chew on our specialty," he held up the pair of boxers with a pencil.

"Chew on it yourself, moron,"

Thalia grabbed the boxers from Percy and then threw it back at him.

"Oh." Rachel's voice.

All heads turned to the red-haired girl. The color drained from her face. She was pale, to say the least. She gaped at Thalia with a slight shake of head. Annabeth noticed her hands trembling.

And then she noticed another thing.

The bottle pointed to her. _Her. _Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"Oh, um, uh, Rachel, haha, I'm going to ask…" Jason stopped, looking at Percy helplessly. What were they so afraid of?

"No," Thalia made it clear that she wasn't going to take a different answer. Her tone of voice was stern. Her gaze was fixated at Rachel, but gently, as if urging her. "I'm going to ask," she said.

Percy disagreed, "You can't. It's Jason's turn to ask."

"I _can't?" _Thalia challenged. "Well news flash, Jackson; Thalia Leia Grace _can." _ She turned to Rachel. "RED, can you tell us now what happened to you and Percy?"

"Thalia," Percy hissed.

Smiling, Thalia continued and ignored Percy. "You can tell us now. Rachel, Annabeth deserves to know."

And cue dramatic music…

Or maybe not.

Annabeth had half-expected Rachel to just brush it off, just like she always does. But she took in a deep, shaky breath, and opened her mouth to speak. There was a fire of determination in her eyes – and at the same time; fear.

Yet instead of hearing Rachel's side, it was Percy that took over.

"There's this stupid rule in the family – you have to marry someone in your level," he started without hesitation. "Well, I am not that kind of person so my dad wasn't sure I'd keep that rule. He started doing what he's doing to Luke now – dates. He put me up on dates. And…I liked _none _of them."

Nico snorted.

Percy ignored him. "And one night at a dinner with the Dares, Poseidon told me that I was going to get engaged to Rachel. So I confronted Rachel at school…she said she begged her Dad to get engaged to me and that she's had feelings for me for so long – ''

"You argued," Annabeth finished, filling in the missing pieces. "Rachel knew you didn't want your life controlled but she was the one who did it. You got mad at her."

Percy nodded, smiling sadly.

"Do you guys want more Coke?" Thalia asked with a grin. "The story's not done yet. You might need some refreshments."

Annabeth set down her glass. "What do you mean?" she asked, frowning. The revelation was too much already. But it wasn't done yet?

Lifting her head up, Rachel said, "Because what Percy said isn't the real story," Rachel should have won some crazy awards, because the next things she'd say shocked everyone (except for Thalia) more than ever.

"_This _is the real story,"

* * *

_The man clad in black with the eyes as green as the sea and hair as dark as night was pacing back and forth in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows at the office, his face filled with worry. Papers were scattered on his desk – a few files lying around aimlessly._

_The life of a businessman._

_Of course with a few billion dollars in his bank account, he had nothing to worry about. _

_Right?_

_Wrong._

_He was facing yet another crisis. Didn't May Castellan solve that kind of problem before for him? Didn't he marry her for that? Why not get her help again? _

_This was a bigger problem. _

"_Poseidon, what an honor to be called by you," a voice said from behind him. Poseidon perked up, his face brightening – full of hope. Turning, oh was he delighted to see an old friend's face. _

"_Robert!" exclaimed Poseidon. "Come, take a seat."_

_Both businessmen took a seat opposite of each other. The man, whose name was Robert, looked at his friend with those calculating coffee-colored eyes, and ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "I've heard about Iris Co." he stated. _

_Disapprovingly, Poseidon shook his head. "Iris Co…I regret it so much. I formed a partnership with it to develop a park, but it got bankrupted, inflicted damage to Seawater so much that we could lose millions."_

_A shadow passed over Robert Dare's face. _

_He inquired, "What do you want me to do?"_

"_I don't want you to do anything," Poseidon asserted. "I just want an advice since you're the best tactician in the business world that I know."_

"_I'll think about it," Robert replied._

_But Poseidon didn't notice the hungry glint in the man he considered his friend's eyes._

_**xox**_

_Coming back to the hellhole they call "home" didn't exactly feel warm and welcoming. _

_It was, as usual, a tiring day in school. She came home earlier because she was sick, so her Mom had sent a car to fetch her. She didn't want to go back home. Heck she didn't want to go back home riding a car either. She wanted to go to Percy's penthouse (only she and Percy knew where the keys were) through a taxicab. It would feel more…natural._

_As soon as she stepped inside the family mansion, a few butlers bowed. "How was your day, Miss Dare?" they all said in unison._

_Rachel sighed. They sounded so mechanical and scripted that she had to resist the urge to "turn them off". "Fine," she said as she handed her satchel to one of the butlers. "Had to deal with a few pesky girls, boatloads of activities and tests, and on the plus side, I feel like my body is on fire but I'm just fine," she added, sarcasm dripping off of her every word._

_No one seemed to have noticed. _

"_That's good, Miss Dare," one guy told her. Rachel rolled her eyes at the stupidity of it all. "Mr. Dare wants you in the living room right now."_

_She grunted, "What does he want now, for Pete's sake,"_

_And so she headed to the living room. It was this room as big as an ordinary apartment with walls painted peach and a chandelier glittering with diamonds hanging from the ceiling. The room was designed according to one of Rachel's paintings – one she did when she was bored. The rug was Persian, just like in the painting. The couches were white and some of her contest-winning paintings graced the walls. It had a classy ancient vibe, except the television ruined the feel._

_Rachel walked in casually. Her dad was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper with a cup of coffee on the table. _

"_Hey Dad," she greeted just as mechanically as their butlers were. Robert looked up from his newspaper, scrutinized his daughter, and then finally took off his round reading glasses._

"_Rachel, I have to tell you something," _

_Trying hard not to say 'well duh', Rachel kept her mouth shut. She motioned for her dad to continue. And she shouldn't have. Because she was going to regret it forever._

"_Get engaged to Percy Jackson," _

_Her eyes widened. _

"_What are you saying, Dad? I don't want to – ''_

"_Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Robert cut her off with a sharp glare. That caused her to shut up instantly. Her dad continued, with a smug look on his face, "Poseidon is having a problem now. This is the only way I will agree to help – or your best friend Percy will become nothing."_

"_Did Mr. Jackson ask for your help?"_

_Her dad smiled. It wasn't a warm smile. He never smiled warmly. It was a _you-sound-silly _smile that Rachel despised most of all. "No, he didn't," Robert answered. "Poseidon knows full well that when he asks help from me, there's a condition. He did ask for my advice though. And this is it."_

"_To engage me to Percy? Really? We've been friends since we were like, eight! Percy doesn't want to get engaged to anyone at this age and as his best friend I can't let that happen. Now you're saying I should? I don't like it, Percy won't like it, and you know Poseidon won't like it. He'll know that you're engaging me to his son because of their money," Rachel lashed out. Her father was fuming, his ears turning red because of anger. _

_Punch yourself Rachel! You're doomed! _

_She'd never lashed out at her parents – particularly her dad. She was afraid he'd lock her in her room again for a week or worse – send her to Clarion Ladies Academy just like he'd always threatened to do if she didn't follow him._

_Rachel braced herself. But instead of yelling, her dad was actually surprisingly calm._

"_I know Poseidon won't like it. He won't accept my help. That's why you're going to tell him that you love Percy Jackson and you want to get engaged to him."_

"_That's worse!" _

"_Now, now, honey, just think about it. I will help Percy's family, you will get to marry your best friend someday, and I will benefit from it too," There was a dreamy look on her father's face. "Ah, what is it like to be in-laws with a billionaire?"_

_She hated to admit it, but this was the only choice. It would ruin Percy's trust in her, yet at least their company would be saved. She would pretend to be oh-so-obsessed with Percy, beg his dad to engage them – that was the cover up story. _

_While in reality, it was Robert Dare's idea. He forced his own daughter to lie._

"_What do I need to do?"_

* * *

**AND CUE…THE MUSIC! For cliffhangers! Gods I hate myself. I can't resist to end most of my chapters in horrible cliffhangers. Dang. **

**WELL STILL I love you all for hanging in there. Oh, and I didn't notice until now that CNWG has been out there for a year. *whispers* A year and I'm stuck on Chapter 15. Okay, sorry. I usually don't have time to write during the week days, so I write on Friday nights or Saturdays, and usually update on Sundays. **

**And well, I found one song for this story! It's called 'Naked' by Avril Lavigne. I'll accept more song suggestions for this story from you guys, if you have time. Another thing…We've reached the 100 review mark! (::) (::) Cookies to you lovelies. You make my day. **

**One last shout-out to a Guest….for being the 100****th**** reviewer. Can I get the 125****th**** one? Please?**

**More love, CodeNameWiseGirl**


	17. Uh Oh (They're Totally Screwed)

**Replies time! **

**Awesome (Guest): Aw honey you're AWESOME too!**

**Amazing (Guest): Oh my gods thank you! You're lovely too. **

**KaylsDaughterofHades: Thanks dude! Dun worry I'll always be there to cheer you on! I loved YT! Thanks for being there as always... **

**Shadowstone67: Hmm, I bet we'll see what will really happen to Rachel in the later chapters. Hehe, thanks for dropping a review! **

**Guest (Guest): There're totally a lot of things to clarify sweetie. I guess we'll have to find out later tho! And oh my gods thank you for your sweet review! You dont know how much that means to me :) And I promise I'll try to build up the Percabeth faster! **

**Guest (Guest): Is Annabeth falling for Percy? Hmm, maybe? OOPS. Was that an answer? No no its okay to ask questions, I love answering them! But as always we'll have to see later...**

**Well I guess that's it! I'm not even going to give an excuse for being a crappy updater since you guys are so used to it by now. All the love and read on! **

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 16**

**Uh-Oh (They're Totally Screwed)**

Of course it was no surprise that everyone hit the hay as soon as dinner had finished. It had been a long day, and everyone needed a break. Even she needed to gather her thoughts once in a while. Things moved too…fast. Annabeth shouldn't be surprised about the dirty things business people could do. What Rachel's dad did would never compare to what _she _does for a living. And still…

She just couldn't take it off her mind that her and her friends' dads were…problematic.

A snore broke Annabeth's chain of thoughts. She looked beside her to see Thalia scratch her face briefly while sleeping. Everyone was curled up on their sleeping bags, peacefully, as if nothing had happened. There was only one thing going around her head at this time of the night, though. _Percy. _Lying on her back, she gazed into the ceiling. _Is he going to be okay? Can he handle the consequences of what he is about to do? _

With another exasperated sigh, she stood and walked to the kitchen. When she turned on the light, voila, she found Percy sitting in front of the counter, with a glass of half-full Coke in hand. She waited for him to notice her.

He didn't.

There was a faraway look in his eyes, his brows scrunched together in worry. It was _so _unlike the Percy Jackson she knew.

But then again, she didn't know a lot about him, did she?

After a minute of standing there, Annabeth cleared her throat. Percy turned quickly.

"Hey," she began as she sat beside him.

The worried look vanished from his face completely. "Um…oh…hey, Wise Girl. Why're you still up?" he asked. Annabeth pulled the teabag from the counter and poured hot water into her cup. She rolled her eyes.

"I should be asking the same thing about you," she said. Percy didn't reply. He took a sip of his Coke and didn't meet Annabeth's eyes. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable, so she decided she'd change the topic. She cleared her throat once more, saying, "Hey, Seaweed Brain, can you teach me how to make that blue Coke thing? It looks amazing."

Percy's face brightened instantly. "Of course! If you want, I could start right now," he grinned, cheekily. The sudden change of demeanor surprised Annabeth a little. Had he always been like that? Had he always been like _her, _hiding behind masks and feigning happiness? _Ridiculous, _she thought. _How could a son of a billionaire be unhappy?_

Shaking the thoughts away, she smiled, "So, where do we start then?"

"Hmm, why don't you teach me how to make the best tea, and I teach you how to make blue Coke?" he suggested.

Annabeth shrugged, "I don't know, Seaweed Brain. Making tea might overwork that tiny brain of yours," she shook her head, sarcastically. "We don't want that to happen, do we now?"

Percy gave her a pointed look, "I _hate _you."

She hit him playfully. "Oh, c'mon, Seaweed Brain, no witty comebacks? No _nothing?" _

But Percy won't budge. He pouts stubbornly, moving away from Annabeth whenever she tried to make amends with him….even though she didn't really need to.

"Sorry, Percy, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," she said, her words dripping off of sarcasm. When he still didn't budge, she poked him in the side. "I'm gonna teach you, okay?"

"Okay, okay, I'm not the best cook ever! You didn't have to shove it down my throat!"

"I literally didn't!"

"I didn't say that you _literally _did!"

"Gods Percy, you act like a six year old,"

"Well you're four!"

"_Stop _being a drama queen – ''

"DON'T SAY THE D-WORD!" Percy screeched. That might have broken an eardrum.

Annabeth put a finger on his lips to shut him up. "You're gonna wake the others up…and my neighbors."

He removed the finger from his lips, "Why do I care?" he said giving her an annoyed look. "It's not my problem."

"Well, it is. Wake my neighbors up, and you're gonna get it."

"Gonna get what?"

Annabeth held her fist up to demonstrate. Percy gulped noticeably, and immediately shut up.

"Okay, so let's start then? Or are you going to ignore me forever?"

Percy snorted. Annabeth laughed lightheartedly, and believe him; it was hard to stay mad with her laughing like that. He frowned, still trying (and failing) to look peeved.

"I'm still mad," he declared stubbornly. Maybe she'd buy that.

Annabeth nodded with a smirk. "Mm hmm," she hummed. She didn't buy it of course.

_Time to up your game, Jackson. _

He stood up. "I'm going to bed. Good night."

"I thought we were making blue Coke?"

Looking down at her coldly, he said, "Keyword: _were. _Well, I just thought that the _oh so brilliant tea maker _Annabeth Chase can handle it on her own, so…why waste time? I'm sure you're going to be _great _at it."

Annabeth snorted, not sure whether to be annoyed or impressed. "Go on then. I hope you get a good sleep, Seaweed Brain."

"I'm really going to get a good sleep, Wise Girl. I _really _am…"

Annabeth watched him walk away. She shook her head in amusement.

And 3…

2…

1….

Percy poked his head from the door with a sheepish smile. "Oh…uh…can you teach me how to do the hot chocolate instead?"

She sighed. It was really going to be such a long night.

* * *

"Your mom must have been a really good cook," Annabeth remarked after tasting the blue Coke they had just finished making.

Percy's expression softened. "Yes…if she'd met you, you two would have gotten along well,"

"How do you know?" Annabeth inquired with genuine curiosity.

"Well she's a good cook, and I know you are, too. She can also be sarcastic and playful and witty just like you…" he trailed off.

"Thanks…I guess,"

Annabeth knew how much Percy loved his Mom, and she didn't want to ruin anything by saying anything sarcastic.

"Annabeth, why don't we continue our game as we finish our hot chocolate?" Percy offered.

"What game?"

"The 20 Questions Game."

As the two sat down facing each other, mugs of hot chocolate in hand, silence filled the air. Neither wanted to raise the first question, so for the time being, she observed him. _No. _She definitely wasn't checking him out, no, of course not. She just observed the way his sea green eyes would light up, and his raven dark hair would blend into the night, and –

"So tell me about your Mom," Percy suddenly said, interrupting Annabeth's thoughts.

"About my mom…" she repeated, staring up at Percy – who looked back at her – with dark grey eyes, "I don't think there are a lot of stories…"

"But there still is something," he insisted. "Right?"

"Being nosy now, aren't we?"

"It's the 20 Questions game. We're supposed to be nosy."

Annabeth laughed, bitterly. "Should I tell something about my mom? How could I when there's too _little _to tell? I don't think I even remember her name or what she looked like – all I remember is _what kind of person _she is. She's someone who left two little girls in the hands of an uncaring, heartless bastard – '' her voice faltered. Big fat tears threatened to spill from her eyes, and trying hard not to, she quickly drank her hot chocolate up. _Calm down Annabeth Everlyn Chase. Breathe in, breathe out._

She'd half expected Percy to apologize, as that was something most people would do. _I'm sorry. _But a sorry doesn't cut it, does it? You could hurt someone and say sorry afterwards, but the damage has been done. Sorry couldn't do anything.

"You can tell me," Percy said, his gaze meeting hers. And admittedly, she was shocked. No sorry, no excuses – just the assurance that she could tell him anything, even that painful past she was so trying hard to bury.

"I don't think it's interesting enough – ''

He held up his hand that indicated she had to stop. "I don't really care Annabeth," Before he could lose his courage, he asked her, "Did your dad contact you after he left?"

"That's not rele – '' she stopped, and then sighed. "Never. But who cares? Shenaree and I have been doing well without him." She rested her back on the seat. "I don't know where everything started…I just…Okay, so we were a happy family back then…when I was seven, I guess. But then my mom and dad started to argue _every single day. _And you know how it went – they divorced and…what about you? What's your story?"

"It's not really novel-worthy or anything…"

"I don't really care, Percy," she sighed – and she plopped her feet on the counter casually.

"Oh sure, mock me," he mumbled so low under his breath that she almost didn't catch it if it wasn't such a quiet night.

Putting her cup on the counter, she stood from her seat and grabbed Percy's wrist. Grinning, she said, "Come on, Seaweed Brain,"

With slightly narrowed eyes, he inquired, "To where?"

A smile tugged at her lips as she spoke. "If we're gonna talk about your not-novel-worthy story, the kitchen is not the place to be."

"I didn't even say that I'm going to talk about it," he muttered.

Annabeth snickered, "But I'm sure you will."

It was a bad idea to tell sad stories on beautiful places. It really ruins the magicality (was that a word? He didn't know). He'd keep that in mind the next time he tells stories with Annabeth.

So they sat down with their legs folded beneath their feet on the floor, in front of the only floor-to-ceiling window in Annabeth's flat, with a magnificent view of skyscrapers lit in the dark night of New York. But it was hard not to look at Annabeth, no matter how beautiful the view was. He couldn't help but think that she looked cute in those pajamas. _Really Percy, _he told himself. _Of all things, and you say pajamas? _Maybe he really was a Seaweed Brain, he didn't care. Annabeth had always been cute, except for the times that she glared with those sharp, intelligent gray eyes. Like she was doing right now.

"Percy, we don't have all day. You can start now," she said, annoyed. Percy turned his attention on the window to prevent himself from looking at her.

He covered his mouth, resisting the urge to yawn. "Technically it's _night, _Wise Girl."

"Ugh," she groaned hopelessly. One second it was dramatic, then another it was them trying to kill each other. Go figure. "You started this whole tell-me-your-story thing Jackson."

"It started off as 20 Questions Game," he corrected absent-mindedly.

She turned to glare daggers at him, "It's my fault now then?" she demanded.

So naturally, the (not so) great Percy Jackson cowered under Annabeth Chase's deadly stare. Nothing better than a friend who could get things out of you anytime.

He grinned from ear to ear, "Are you ready to hear some drama?"

Annabeth cracked a smile (finally). "Oh what is new for me," she told him, sighing wistfully.

Percy snorted, "This one is heavy drama."

Rolling her eyes, Annabeth waved her hand irritably. "Just get on with it, Seaweed Brain."

"Wait, I'm gonna get my hot chocolate." As he walked back to the kitchen, she heard him say "I feel like a teenage girl…" and Annabeth stifled a giggle. Honestly, 18 years old and he acted like 10. When Percy returned, she looked up at him.

"Well?"

He looked around, rather stupidly, and then turned back to her. "Well _what?"_

"Stop delaying, Percy."

"Ask me something because I honestly don't know where to start, Wise Girl."

She was about to make some smart comment on how his brain was full of seaweed when she saw the look on Percy's face. He genuinely didn't know where to start.

"I want to get to know your mom more…I mean…your real, biological mom…"

"Well as I told you she's smart and a very beautiful woman. Not just that, but very caring too. I can go on and describe her all night, but as a logical man –'' Annabeth snorted at that. " – I know better than that so...all I can say about my Mom is that she was a really nice mother to me…and wife…to my jerk of a dad namely Poseidon."

"Why do you hate your dad so much?"

Percy shrugged, "Now that Rachel's told us the truth, I don't hate him that much anymore. I thought – well, he's not that bad. I think hate is a strong word, so maybe I'm just a little mad and sad about one thing."

"How did you get to know your brother and your step-mom?"

"After Mom's death, Dad remarried to a kind woman-her name is May Castellan. She already has a son from her previous marriage though – that's the guy you met at the grocery and at the dinner with the Dares – Luke. They're nice people and they help Dad out a lot so I absolutely have no problem with them."

Annabeth stopped herself from grunting. _Luke, nice, _the words simply didn't match.

"You said something about cancer once…" Annabeth said slowly, as if trying to remember. "What was that all about?"

"Ah, that." Percy rubbed his neck nervously. "Your sister…my Mom had the same type of cancer as her…it was a nasal one that took her life eventually. What I hated about it was…when Dad wasn't at the hospital when she was hanging on to her last breath. He was so…_busy _saving that stupid company of his that he might have forgotten he had a young son looking after his dying mother alone…" Percy's voice cracked.

And at that moment, she realized one thing. If Luke didn't know about this story, then is it possible that she was the first one to hear it? If someone looked on one side, Percy and Annabeth were complete opposites. But then, they still had a lot of things in common.

"I guess I hated him since that incident. Since then I hated my dad, my life, and that stupid Seawater Company and I didn't want anything to do with it," he finished, although his eyes were tearing up.

Annabeth didn't know what came to her mind when she opened her arms to Percy.

And Percy thought his heart must have been ADHD too, because then, he pulled her wrist and enclosed her in a tight embrace.

* * *

The next morning, Percy woke to the blinding shine of the sun and…voices. Terrified voices. With difficulty, he sat up, a little groggy. His eyes adjusted to the light after he rubbed them, and he became aware of the people surrounding him.

Or…_them._

"Oh gods…" a girl muttered with uncertainty. Thalia, Jason and Nico were all there. He saw Rachel blushing beet red, staring at a spot next to him.

When he turned to look, a blonde girl was lying on the floor, sleeping next to him. _Real _close to him.

His breath caught.

Uh-oh. They're totally screwed.

**I truly, truly told myself a thousand times: don't do it, don't do it. But my fragile Percabeth heart won't listen! Blame it for writing that last part. As you can see, I'm developing a relationship here so slowly. And as you can see also, Annabeth is "wavering" without her noticing it so we're pretty much getting closer to real stuff. Oh gods how I hate saying that again. **

**Well I love you all lovelies! Drop in a review if you have time!**


	18. Clean

**Guest (Guest): Thanks, you're cool too!**

**KittyKofficial: I am so grateful! Your review boosted my confidence! But of course I love cliffhangers haha. To answer your question, my update schedule is kinda crappy. I update when I finish the next chapter. Sometimes it takes a while since there's school and stuff.**

**Percabeth (Guest): Aww honey thank you! I miss MoA moments too. Also, I've read Magnus Chase (it was gods awesome) and I can say that I loved the sarcasm. Samirah and Magnus though? I'm giving it a few books to say my take on it. I don't ship it just yet. But it is adorable!**

**Guest (Guest): Thank you! Hope you like this one too!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 17**

**Clean**

Morning started out bad enough. Nico di Angelo just didn't know when to shut up sometimes (okay, maybe _every _time), and it pissed Percy off to no end. Breakfast was quiet, and he felt bad for Annabeth who had to go through Nico's 'interrogation' session afterwards. Of course Percy had to go through it too. In fact, as he and his cousins were in the car, Nico just wouldn't stop.

"Dude!" the dark haired boy exclaimed frantically. "You just don't sleep with a girl like that! _There, _on the living room, far from your friends. You-just-don't."

Percy gave him the eye roll. "Will you do the world a favor and _shut up, _Nico?"

Nico ignored him. "Dang Percy, Day One without Rachel and you're already going after a girl," he said.

"First of all Nico, Rachel's still my fiancée, and secondly, I'm not going after a girl and most certainly not Annabeth, 'kay?" Percy sighed, annoyed. "We just fell asleep," he added in a hushed tone.

"I thought you're cutting off the engagement?" Nico arched an eyebrow. "I thought it's over."

Thalia elbowed him. "Will you pleaseshut up, di Angelo? Annabeth said it was nothing. Percy said they just talked. Please just let it go and let-us-sleep!"

As Thalia turned to sleep, Nico rolled his eyes at her. "Whatever," he mumbled.

Just then, Percy's phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and read the message that Rachel had just sent him: _Your turn._

He breathed deeply at that.

* * *

Before she opened the door, she made sure to calm her nerves.

_Inhale, exhale. _Holding on to the knob, her hand clammy and shaking from nervousness, she made a mental note to not go into solving problems alone. Especially when it involved her Dad. Honestly speaking, she wasn't eight anymore! She thought she could face him now. Well, this was a humiliation.

With all her courage, she opened the door, and walked into her father's room.

Suddenly, it felt colder around her. The sweat tracing down her neck earlier had seeped into her skin, and then there, she saw him. Robert was working on some papers. _Like always, _she thought bitterly.

"Hey…Dad," Rachel began as she walked closer. Every step was like torture. Any minute, she could turn on her heels, say 'this is all a mistake, sorry, bye', run for the door, and slam it shut. But she stilled her nerves. No time to back out now.

Robert Dare looked up from his papers. He examined Rachel coldly, then smiled. "Ah, my daughter. How was your sleepover, Rachel?" he greeted, and, like always, she never traced any sign of warmth in his words. It was more like he was dealing with another businessman.

She snorted. "Oh so you care now?"

"What was that, honey?"

Blinking, she quickly said, "Nothing Dad."

The man clasped his hands together and leaned forward, the smile still plastered on his face. "What brings you into my room? Have you seen Mom?"

"Um…Mom's shopping," Rachel replied. She took a seat on the bed. "And Dad…I want to talk to you about something."

"And what might that be?" he asked uninterestingly.

"The engagement with Percy," she said. Her dad perked up, looking at his daughter with newfound interest. Well, that caught his attention. _Here goes nothing. _"Dad…I want to break it up."

At first, Robert just stared into empty space like he had a hard time registering her words, and then he frowned, and then he suddenly burst into laughter. Rachel sat there frozen and dumbfounded.

"Dad – ''

"Oh honey. You totally got me this time."

Groaning, Rachel stood up and stomped her foot. "I am _not _joking with you, Dad! Listen to me, please, just for once. Percy _won't _marry me, he knows everything you've done now. And I will _never _marry Percy. We're friends and we couldn't be more than that, ever! So please, please just this once listen to me," she stopped to breathe. "Please."

"After all these years, and you're giving up now?" Robert snarled. "No. You cannot deal with me."

"No, you're – ''

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare!" he shouted, which made Rachel flinch. With a sigh, she sat back down. She knew it was hopeless. Her dad would never let go of an opportunity without getting another one. Rachel pushed back a stray hair to her ear.

"I'm going to Clarion Ladies Academy," she declared sadly.

Robert looked shocked. "What?"

"I'm going to Clarion Ladies Academy," Rachel repeated. "This fall, in a finishing school I hate so much, I'm going there like you've always wanted. Just break off the engagement with Percy."

A smug smile appeared on the man's face. As a businessman, he understood the meaning of a deal better than anybody else. "Well that's brave of you, sweetheart. Hmm, let me talk to the Jacksons and we'll settle this."

Rachel bit her lip.

Her dad led her out of the room, and as soon as he'd left, Rachel grabbed her phone and sent Percy a quick message: _Your turn._

* * *

He made his way through the house, making sure he avoided places where his parents could possibly be. It was hard though, because there were too many rooms. Percy liked his penthouse better – smaller, quieter, and of course he could put in anything he wanted there – unlike in Poseidon's house where everything from the furniture to even the plates were chosen by his dad. That's the main reason why the Jacksons looked like they lived deep in the ocean. But then again, their company was named Seawater, so he shouldn't be shocked.

Slamming the door of his bedroom shut, Percy ran and crashed onto the bed. He loved his room. It was the only place in the house where he could be anyone, do anything, and all that. It was relatively small, compared to Rachel's, whose room was two times bigger than Annabeth's apartment. Percy had designed it himself. He painted the walls blue, his bed was small and yet comfortable at the same time, and yes, he had a literal goldfish there. But the most important piece inside…

He opened his eyes and sat up. Crouching low, he pulled a box from underneath the bed and opened it. Whenever he was low or needed confidence, he looked at pictures of him and his mom from when he was younger. A smile graced his lips. He remembered what his father told him when Percy had asked why he wanted to burn all those memories away. _Sally…was a wonderful woman, Percy, _he'd told twelve year old Percy. _An irreplaceable woman, a good wife and a loving mother. She deserves to be remembered. But, son, we will only be hurt more._

Poseidon was right. Sally Jackson was irreplaceable, wonderful, and caring. And that was more reason Percy had insisted to remember her.

Taking out the photos, Percy heaved a wistful sigh. The photo in his hand was the one they took on Montauk Beach. He didn't exactly remember the details, but he believed that his Mom took him there months before her…passing…because she wanted to tell Percy the story of how she met Poseidon. Nostalgia washed over him as he stared at the smiling face of his Mom, and the way her eyes shone, and the way she'd braided her long, brown hair.

Then he noticed another thing.

Young Percy was holding something in his hand. It looked like a pen. His eyebrow arched. _The seal, _he thought. How had Riptide gotten into the hands of young Percy? As far as he knew (which wasn't that far) his dad kept it until Percy was fifteen, when he was handed the seal.

Before he could think into the matter further, the knock on his door made him jump. "Perce?" Luke's voice. "Dad wants you to join us for breakfast."

Quickly putting the box back under the bed, he answered, "Wait, I'm, uh, coming in a sec. Dang, how'd they know I'm here already?" He mumbled that last part.

Then he swung the door open and came face to face with Luke. The guy was in his usual khaki shorts and leather loafers, a grin plastered on his face. "So, tell me, how did your sleepover go? I heard you and the others went to that girl's place?" Luke said as they made their way to the dining hall.

"Her name's Annabeth," Percy corrected. He was a little miffed at Luke for calling Annabeth 'that girl' even though he probably forgot since they had only met twice. "And it went okay," he added.

Luke asked, "Was that girl –'' he caught himself. "I mean _Annabeth, _was she an okay friend too?"

Percy's cheeks felt on fire. Talking about Annabeth reminded him of what had happened earlier that morning. The blush on both of their faces, the constant teasing of the others – heck even Rachel was fine with it. Luke stared at him curiously. Percy avoided eye contact with him.

"Um, we get along really well," (Total lie). "She's a great friend."

Nodding in approval, Percy noticed the hungry glint in Luke's eyes. He was okay with Luke, but sometimes the change in shade of his blue eyes unnerved him.

"Thalia told you anything?" Luke asked again.

"No, what would Pinecone Face – ''

"Perseus." His dad. Percy stopped on his tracks, realizing they'd arrived. Poseidon was sitting at the far end of the table and May sat beside him. Luke smiled in greeting and then took his seat across of his mom. Percy sat across of his dad.

"Um, hi," he began.

Poseidon studied him with intense, green eyes like his. The only difference between them was that Poseidon's were more like the untamable seas, while Percy's were the calm ones. Sometimes it was the other way around though.

"Perseus, did you know that Robert called me this morning, telling me to meet him one time to talk about your engagement with Rachel?" his dad said, his fists clenching as if he was trying to control his anger. May patted his back to calm him down. Then he said, "They want to break off the engagement between you two."

Luke looked up, his eyes narrowed.

Poseidon snarled, "Do you have anything to do with this, Percy?"

Percy bit his lip. He gripped the edge of his seat tightly. Finally, he could be free to choose the person he was going to marry, and then his Dad would just ruin everything for him. "Rachel and I planned it," he admitted.

Poseidon scowled. "Rachel? She wouldn't do that. She loves you and you know full well that she even begged me to let her marry you."

"That – '' Percy stopped. He just couldn't tell the whole truth to his family. "That was long ago. You see, Dad, this whole arranged marriage thing ruined our friendship. Rachel and I want to fix it and so we planned to speak to our dads. Just…just accept it, please."

May smiled. "Dear, you might as well let him be. Percy knows what he's doing."

Then, Poseidon's expression softened. He sighed. "Very well. But Perseus, the girl you choose...you have to let me meet her okay?"

"A-are you…approving?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Poseidon said, "That's what it looks like, son."

Percy beamed. "Th-thank you, Dad!"

"Hmm," Mom tapped her chin. "Now Percy can go to her girl."

"Mom!" he protested, but internally he was just too happy. Finally, his Dad listened to him and approved of what he said without causing World War 3.

Luke smirked. "You have a girl, Perce? Who is she? Do I know her?" he asked. There was an unsettling undertone in his words, as if he was talking about a particular person. But Percy just shrugged.

"First of all, you don't know her, and there is no _she _because I don't have a girlfriend, okay? Plus the engagement with Rachel was only called off a while ago." he told them. His dad shook his head, Luke just raised a brow, and his step-mom chuckled.

"Did you really consider yourself as Rachel's fiancé all these years?" she asked teasingly. Luke rolled his eyes and went back to eating his pancakes. "Oh, Luke, do you know other friends of Percy which are girls? Except for Thalia and Rachel, of course."

Shooting Percy a sideways glance, Luke turned back to his Mom. "How would I know, Mom? I don't go to Goode High."

"And stop Mom, I'm not interested in dating anyone in the meantime," he put in.

"Ah!" May Castellan perked up, her gaze glue to Percy. "That girl we met at the dinner with the Dares. What was her name again? Anna, Annie, Anniebelle, Annabelle – ''

Percy sighed. "It's Annabeth, Mom."

"Yes! Annabeth, that girl. She's your friend right, dear? She has an interesting name…" Mom mused. "Well, Percy dear, she's really pretty, and I believe you're close, and she looks smart – '' He snorted at that. "_And _you guys look perfect together!"

"_And _we're friends," he added.

Luke stood up from his seat. His expression was cold and stiff, his eyes looking into space absent mindedly. "I have to go to Ethan's to finish a project," he excused himself. "I'll go first, Mom, Dad," then his eyes landed on Percy. "And Percy." He walked away, his hand running through his blond hair.

May shook her head, her eyes – very similar to Luke's – filled with worry. "Sometimes I don't know what's wrong with that boy," she muttered. Then she must have realized she'd spoken out loud because she waved at Percy like it was nothing. "Oh, where were we again? Ah…Annabeth. I want to know this friend of yours. Can I invite her to dinner? Poseidon, can I?"

"What, Mom, no! Please, just, _don't. _Just kill me please," he looked at his dad pleadingly. "Tell her no Dad, please."

Poseidon just grinned. Which didn't help, of course. Annabeth and May Castellan together? Nope. Nope. Just kill him. That'd be better.

Laughing uncontrollably, May asked, "I heard from Mr. Brunner that the prom is coming up, honey. Who're you going to take? I bet Rachel and Thalia are out of the question now right?"

"Annabeth isn't the only girl available in Goode, you know that Mom,"

"But are you really willing to take a complete stranger?" she pressed. "Instead of your _friend, _Annabeth? Besides, she's new to the school. She doesn't know many guys out there whom she could take."

Percy didn't answer. He played with his hands under the table, thinking maybe his mom had a good point. But should he really take Annabeth Chase to the prom? The rumor spinners like Drew Tanaka would be there, and besides, his cousins had teased him enough.

He groaned. Dialing Jason's number, he pressed the call button and spoke into the phone, "Hey, Jason. Call the others. I'm gonna need your help."

* * *

Third hour passed by quickly. It was Greek class with Mr. Brunner, honestly her most favorite teacher in Goode High. Greek was actually kinda fun too. Mr. Brunner would always pop up some jokes and silly stories about gods dwelling on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building.

As soon as she'd slammed her locker door shut, a couple girls bumped into her and walked past her, giggling and screaming _prom! _Annabeth shook her head in disapproval. _Such rich kids, _she thought as she waded through the crowd in the cafeteria.

"They're too excited huh," Thalia commented, squeezing in to get beside Annabeth. "They're all gonna be like _gods, I still don't have a dress to wear for prom! _And I'll be so freaking pissed."

Annabeth stifled a laugh. She was about to say something when she spotted their group's table. Thalia held her hand and dragged her towards it. "Hey Thals," Percy greeted. Then he turned to Annabeth and smiled. "Sup Wise Girl."

"Gods I still don't have a dress to wear for prom!" Rachel complained.

Thalia and Annabeth shared a look, then both girls burst out laughing. Nico rolled his eyes and mumbled something about not understanding girls, and Rachel just gave them a look. "What? Something wrong?"

Grinning, Thalia said, "Nope. Just an inside joke."

"Rachel, you've been saying that the whole week," Percy noticed. As he talked he motioned for Annabeth to sit beside him, so Jason had to move next to Rachel. Nico, Rachel, Jason, and Thalia all gave them knowing looks. "What?" Percy demanded.

Rachel gave him an eye roll. And that was an incredible development. Rachel used to be so tensed around Percy, but now, everything was well. Last week, though, the news of the Percy/Rachel break-up (if you could call it that) had spread around Goode High. It was a busy week. Not just because they were trying to kill the issue, but because prom was coming up in a few weeks and everyone was asking people around to take them. Annabeth has had a few guys who asked her to be their date, but of course, she refused. Now she regretted it. Who was she going to take? She should have just taken that guy Chrysaor from her gym class.

Percy nudged her.

She turned to glare at him. "What?"

"_I see romance in the air, lalala," _Nico sang in a terrible voice (believe her, you didn't want to hear that). Thalia winked at Annabeth – wait, she just what? Did Thalia Grace just wink?

"Do you have a date for prom already?" Percy asked.

Annabeth grinned. "I can't choose from my many suitors. You, Seaweed Brain?"

Rachel coughed in her fist. They all looked at her. "Annabeth, I know you are having a hard time choosing from your, ahem, _many _suitors, but do you mind me adding another one to the list?"

"Um…who?"

A mischievous smirk formed on the redhead's lips. "Thals, come on, let's grab a salad," she said as she dragged Thalia away from the group. Jason and Nico then excused themselves, saying they had to _answer the call, _whatever that meant.

So basically, only Percy and Annabeth were on the table.

And 3…2…1. Cue the terrible awkwardness. When her gray eyes met his green ones, both remembered an incident from a week ago. Now she wasn't sure whose face was redder, hers or Percy's.

She decided to break the ice. "Um, so do you know who the guy Rachel is talking about?"

He let out a small laugh. "Actually it's not even a guy," he said.

Annabeth frowned. "It's a girl?"

"Oh, not a girl either,"

"Not a boy, not a girl, then who the hell is this?"

"It's Percy…" Percy said, looking at Annabeth like he expected her to get it or crack up on his joke. She just looked at him like, _go on now because I still don't get it. _

Their little staring contest garnered attention from the _whole _cafeteria, which meant every single boy and girl in Goode High could see _them, _and that wasn't good. From the corner of her eye, she could see Drew Tanaka crossing her arms and huffing, and that wasn't good either. It could mean another web of rumors – this time, featuring Percy and Annabeth, or _Percabeth, _as their friends had already called them (Nico was the mastermind and Rachel herself made the 'ship' name).

"Wise Girl…" Percy said slowly, which caused electricity to run through her body. "Will you take me as your date to Prom?"

Maybe she was going crazy, maybe her ADHD was acting up – whatever. The words came off her naturally.

With a smile, she said, "Of course."

And all hell broke loose.

~o~o~

**Sorry! This was totally rushed. I had to go through my laziness and writer's block (yet again). It was definitely hard to right, but I had to get through so here it is. BTW you guys are amazing! I love you all. Drop in a review, say anything and speak your mind! Also, I'll try to answer any question, random or not. So ask away! **

**All love, **

**CNWG.**


	19. Set-Up

**Time to answer reviews!**

**KittyKOfficial: Omg thank you! Your reviews are always so motivating and awesome. :) And no, dont thank me for replying to your review, _I _should be thankful to you for reviewing! And of course, sadly, it's not prom yet, bc I'm still developing stuff. Love you, lovely!**

**Percabeth (Guest): Hi! Gods, I just LOVE your reviews! Thank you because they're so inspiring. And about the 'Sagnus' thing (that's the ship name then?), well, I can write a one-shot if I have time but surely I will notify you if I do :)  
**

**Huntress18 (Guest) - username: Huntress of Artemis 18 : Hi gorgeous! Your suggestions and comments are so helpful! I like the idea of Annabeth's catchphrase being 'of course' I haven't thought about that really. And yep. I feel like the sleepovers were rushed too. But I just can't stall any longer. And the others...well...one day we'll see. And a little action for Drew? Of course. :) Thanks again for reviewing!**

**prettypinkey2: Welcome! Hahahaha thanks for the review! I'm glad you think the idea's original and refreshing! That's really what I hoped for. And of course :) I will read your story. It's not selfish or anything. I really love it when people suggest their works. I'm in need of those. Haha.**

**Guest (Guest): Thank you very much, love! **

**Now, onto the story!**

**Code Name: Wise Girl**

**Chapter 18**

**Set-Up**

Rachel tapped her chin. "I don't know Annabeth," she said, a look of disapproval on her face. "It _does _look a little…Drew."

"_Drew?" _Annabeth let out a gasp. "Of course it would look that way. You practically just made me wear a dress that a ten year old has grown out of."

"Drew wears a dress that a ten year old has grown out of?" Thalia asked, mock incredulous.

Rachel rolled her eyes, "Duh."

Looking at the dress in revulsion, Thalia threw it back to the rack it had been on. Rachel giggled.

"Stop that, Thalia!" she said, still giggling. "That dress was nice!"

Annabeth hugged her chest, uncomfortably. With a shrug she said, "Well this one certainly isn't."

"You guys! I shouldn't have brought you here if I knew you are just going to complain about my fashion sense," Rachel told them, sighing. She had dragged Thalia and Annabeth to different stores the moment weekend started. Thalia never owned any dresses. She just called on Aphrodite when she _really, really _needed it. Annabeth's excuse for not having _any _was that she "never really attended parties" so she never felt the need to own one.

"Look Rachel, you _forced _us into this. Honestly, I could just come to the prom in ripped jeans and a Chambray…" Annabeth mumbled, coming out of the fitting room after she'd changed into her clothes.

Rachel gave her a look. "Are you serious?"

Putting her hands on her hips, Thalia looked at Annabeth funny. "Actually Annie, _I _could do that," Annabeth smiled. Thalia grinned, "But you can't." Her smile vanished.

"Why?"

"_Because, _you're Percy Jackson's date," Rachel supplied.

"And…?"

Thalia and Annabeth followed Rachel into another rack of dresses. As the redhead was comparing a violet dress to a red one, she said, "Annabeth, you don't know how much girls wanted to be Percy's date for Prom. Percy asking you? Well that didn't please them. They will do anything to prevent you from being Prom Queen."

"Why did Percy even do that?" Annabeth asked. "I mean, he could have just asked you instead."

Rachel handed Thalia the violet dress. "Try this one, Thals," she said. Thalia walked off, groaning. Rachel then met Annabeth's eyes. "I don't know."

"Hey…to be honest? I don't want to become Prom Queen."

"Well that sucks because you're going to be one. Try this on," Rachel shoved a blue dress into Annabeth's hands. With a sigh, she turned and walked back to the fitting room to change into the dress Rachel picked for her. This part of the prom was the one she hated most. Picking dresses looked so easy in the movies. In real life, it _sucked. _

She thought if Percy had shopped with her, they would be going to the prom looking like cowboy and girl in Fedora hats. Actually, he already suggested that before Rachel had barged in and told them that they couldn't see each other's outfits until the actual prom.

When she walked out of the fitting room, Rachel's jaw dropped. Thalia, who was staring at her dress with disgust, turned around and gasped when she laid eyes on Annabeth. She looked around nervously.

"Blue…blue doesn't compliment my skin tone," she defended. "Don't judge."

"A-Annabeth, you do realize…" Rachel faltered once Thalia turned Annabeth around. "Gods of Olympus, you look fantastic! Like the princess in one of my paintings!"

Thalia whistled appreciatively, "Jackson is _so _going to look like a loser standing next to you."

Rachel shushed her. "Come on, Thals, he already _is!"_

Annabeth chuckled and curtsied jokingly. They were right. The dress was nice. Well it wasn't the cheapest, but it was worth it. She liked the color, too. It was like the blue food that Percy taught her to make. It didn't mean that she liked it because of _that, _of course. She was just comparing.

"I don't want to pick a dress anymore," Thalia complained, looking at Annabeth disbelievingly like _can you see me in this? _The dress was actually pretty nice, but of course _pretty _and _nice _weren't Thalia Grace's style.

"We aren't leaving until we get you something decent to wear Thalia Leia Grace," Rachel warned.

Thalia cracked a smile. "Maybe 'decent' – '' she made air quotations on the decent word. "Just isn't my thing, RED. Last time I tried that, I felt like absolute shit," she explained, shaking her head. "And I feel so shitty right now."

Annabeth snorted.

Rachel considered Thalia's words thoughtfully. "Hmm…" she hummed. "I think we can get you something that screams _Thalia _and decent at the same time."

For the first time since five hours ago, Thalia nodded seriously, agreeing. "I think I can deal with that."

* * *

Jason stared him from head to toe critically. "I don't know how to describe you best, dude," he said. "A Poseidon gone thinner, or – '' he shook his head. "I don't know how Annabeth will react to this."

Percy turned to look at himself in the mirror. Jason was right. The tux was too big for him. He looked like he lived in the tux itself. But then again, he only pulled it from his dad's wardrobe, which was embarrassing in itself.

"Cut me some slack," he said. "I've grown out of my tuxes."

Nico snorted. "You only have one tux," he reminded him. Percy's cheeks turned a shade of pink. He turned his attention to the mirror, which of course didn't exactly boost his self-esteem. His hair was a rat's nest as usual, and no matter how much gel he put in, his hair just wouldn't stay still. He suspected that it was ADHD as well.

"What should I wear then?" Percy questioned. Nico raised his hand. Percy quickly said, "Don't tell me to go shopping because I won't."

Nico's shoulders slumped.

Percy really wished Annabeth was with them. She would've just told him to wear jeans and T-shirt so they would look completely different from the others. That would have been better.

"You told us to come all the way to your penthouse to give you advice, so let us dude," Jason scolded, pulling out an outfit resembling that of the prince in _Cinderella. _Nico buried his face in his hands, snickering incessantly.

He literally stumbled back in surprise. "No, no, no, I would _not _be going to the prom looking like Mr. Princey," he protested.

"Dude you're going to be Prom King, you better dress like one," Jason reasoned.

Sending him death glares, Percy stood up shakily. He imagined Annabeth wearing casual clothes, and he would walk next to her in a Prince Charming outfit – looking like a total doofus. Everyone would laugh, and any hope of a face to show afterwards would be shattered.

He shuddered at the thought.

"Hey, you're not sure if I'm really going to be Prom King. Drew will make sure of that. Besides, you're a tough contender, bro," he told Jason.

Nico wiggled his eyebrows, "I'd love to see Annabeth become Prom Queen though."

"_That," _Percy scowled. "is a bad idea."

"What?!" Nico held his hands up defensively.

"I asked Annabeth to be my date for three reasons, Nico. One, I don't want to be with a complete stranger, it's gonna be awkward with Rachel, _you _already took Thalia, and I just can't let Annabeth go off with a total stranger. Secondly, _I _don't want to become Prom King. Annabeth doesn't have a problem with that, unlike Drew," he rambled on. "And third…third…"

"You like her," Jason supplied.

"Yes!" The words then started to sink in. Percy blushed furiously. "I mean no!" he screeched, indignant. Jason might not be the best person to talk to when it came to love, but it was pretty obvious when someone liked someone. "I don't _like-like _her. I mean, I like her as a friend but – ''

Jason held his hand up. He looked at his cousin teasingly, and then offered him the outfit.

Just as Percy was about to give up and try the prince outfit on, his phone rang. He looked at the screen and grinned. _Annabeth. _He accepted the call. "Hey, Wise Girl."

"_Hey Percy. It's already six o'clock, if you haven't noticed." _But despite the sarcasm, she sounded like she'd run a mile. He could hear her heavy breathing through the phone.

"You okay, Annabeth?" he asked, his voice filled with worry.

He heard her laugh from the other line. She paused for a while, then finally she said, _"Yeah, I am. I'm starving to death but otherwise I'm fine. But really Percy, can you come faster? I want to throw up right now but I don't have anything to throw up, so yeah." _Voices cut through the line, and then she finally hanged up.

Nico and Jason shared knowing looks.

* * *

The thing with a 'get-together' is that you have to actually _get together. _With many people. Not just the two of you in a fancy restaurant looking like complete morons waiting for the others to come when they _won't _come.

"I feel like my internal organs were ripped out," Percy whined.

Annabeth fake-gagged. "That's just gross, Seaweed Brain," she said, making a face. "They probably didn't come because they have other things to do."

"But all of them didn't come?" he asked incredulously. "As far as I know, Rachel planned this dinner thing. She didn't come. And what would Nico be doing? The guy doesn't do his homework. I bet they set us up," he grumbled.

"That's because they _did, _Percy," Annabeth said, exasperated.

He blushed. Annabeth smirked.

Before either of them could say anything, the waiter sauntered up to them. He placed a fancy sweet-smelling candle in the middle of their table, and next he laid the wine glasses for the two.

"Good evening, Ma'am, Sir," he said, his eyes practically lighting up like this was the first time he'd seen two kids in the restaurant. "I'm Bob. What would you like to drink? Perhaps champagne?" he offered.

As she was about to accept, she heard a low rumble coming from her stomach. She looked at Bob. "I'll have steak, and a salad," she said. Percy looked at her with a smirk.

"That's technically not a drink…Ma'am," Bob cleared his throat.

Percy covered his mouth to muffle his laughter. Annabeth sent him a subtle glare and then turned back to the waiter. "I don't care for drinks so please actually serve now because I'm starving and I need something to eat – not something to flood my intestines and please give this guy a pitta wrap and roast beef too." She smiled sweetly at Bob, who looked like he was going to faint.

"Sorry, no alcohol," Percy smiled apologetically at the poor waiter. "We'll just have blue Coke instead."

Bob shifted uncertainly. "Blue...Sir?" he asked. His interest in the two and the light in his eyes vanished. He probably thought that he was dealing with really, really scary (Annabeth mostly) teenagers.

"You heard him. Blue. And please take the candle away, or I might burn the cloth."

Quickly taking up the candle, Bob scrambled away. Percy gave Annabeth a funny look.

"What?" she demanded.

"What what?"

"You're looking at me funny."

Percy cracked up. "_You're _funny," he told her. "I think the guy won't come back anymore, thanks to Miss I-Don't-Care-For-Drinks-So-Please-Actually-Serve-Now-Because-I'm-Starving-And-I-Need-Something-To-Eat."

"That," Annabeth grinned. "Is the power of hunger."

"Actually also the power of being pissed off by your friends who set you up in a fancy restaurant and then made to wait for a good hour," Percy supplied. Admittedly, this wasn't so bad at all. The place had a nice ambiance, and he, mortifying as it sounded, actually enjoyed being with Annabeth alone.

When Annabeth didn't answer, Percy decided he didn't want to sit there in another awkward silence.

"Rachel wants me to date someone."

Annabeth blinked. "Huh?"

"She told me that she planned to come clean when she finds a girl to put up with me," he explained, lowering his gaze.

"She-she did?"

He nodded.

"And why is that?" Annabeth poked in cautiously.

"Well…she wants to know I'll be in good hands. She's been like that since we were really young. She always thinks that _I _am the one in need of careful handling."

"Well Seaweed Brain, don't you?" Annabeth teased.

Percy went into defense mode, mock gasping. "I most certainly _don't _Wise Girl. What I'd like to point out is that I never realized until now that _you _are the girl Rachel thought will be _carefully _handling me and I can't even imagine _you _ever being careful. Especially with me."

Annabeth gaped at him, her cheeks dusted red. "Oh."

"Um…"

"I'm…"

"You're…"

"So…"

Before they could jump into a one-word conversation, Bob arrived at their table, looking extremely nervous. With shaky hands, he put down the meal they ordered and poured (surprise) blue Coke into their wine glasses. As soon as he had finished serving, he walked as far away as possible from the duo.

Annabeth stared down at her meal.

She cleared her throat. "He accidentally switched our food."

"Oh. Um. Let's swap again?"

Annabeth looked hungrily at the pitta wrap in front of her. Grinning (or trying to grin), Percy held up his glass of blue Coke.

"They didn't even get the taste right!" he complained in an obnoxiously louder voice. "I am in no mood for a pitta wrap now. Can I just get the steak?"

Smiling, Annabeth mouthed him the words, _thank you. _His heart did a double flip at that.

_No this is so wrong, so, so wrong._

Annabeth pushed back a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Percy thought the mannerism was cute.

_No, THIS IS WRONG, _his subconscious told him.

He was about to argue with himself, but just then, a camera flash went off.

* * *

She watched the black haired boy and blonde girl with a devious smile. They were amusing to watch, really. The boy said something, and the air suddenly went awkward around them. But her attention was mainly focused on the blonde. She looked comfortable with the boy. She laughed and smiled and joked with him, and she thought that if this girl was only acting, then she must be a _really _good actress.

But watching the way her gray eyes brightened when she stared at the boy when he didn't know, anyone could easily tell that it was genuine.

Smirking, the woman in the brown overcoat held her camera up and snapped a photo of the duo.

The flash went off, and the boy looked in her direction.

_Oh shit. _

Immediately grabbing her things, she stood and scrambled out of the restaurant. It would be too dangerous if the boy or the girl saw her. _Especially _the girl.

_But it was worth it._

* * *

Annabeth bit her lip. "Are you sure you saw a flash?" she asked, her eyebrows scrunched together in worry. Percy leaned on the door of the car, nodding.

"I'm sure it is." When he saw the worried look on Annabeth's face, he quickly backtracked, "But I think it's just Rachel or Nico playing some tricks on us."

"Yeah. We'll get them."

"Once we do, I'm going to throw them into a pack of wolves." Percy grinned from ear to ear, "I would _love _to see our picture though."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, but her lips curled upwards into a smile nonetheless.

"I'll make sure to burn it," she promised. Percy's shoulders fake sagged. Annabeth gave a hearty laugh. "Good night Percy, and thanks for the ride."

His face fell, although this time, she wasn't sure if it was faked or not.

She turned around to walk away, but stopped on her tracks and turned to Percy again.

She called out, "Percy?"

He perked up. Annabeth motioned for him to come closer, and so he did. They were mere inches away, and she couldn't shake off the thought that she shouldn't be doing what she was about to do, but this time, she didn't let her brain take over.

She planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Good night Seaweed Brain," she murmured in his ear.

Percy stood there, frozen in his position. His heart was beating faster than he could have processed what just happened. It wasn't even a real kiss, but his seaweed of a brain had already turned to mush. All the honking, all the people's chatters – nothing mattered as they were background noises to him. He watched her walk away, his gaze glued to her as she went into the apartment building.

With a childish grin on his face, he found himself saying, "Good night Wise Girl," into the night air.

XXX

**And ta-da! Some Percabeth in there just for you, lovelies. I really had fun writing this chapter, especially that dinner part. And of course the last few paragraphs! I didn't want to end it with a cliffhanger or anything but it felt right to end it that way. Ha. Our poor Percy is still trying to understand his emotions, and so does Annabeth.**

**I know the answer but I'm going to question my own plotline anyway. So…who the heck is the person who took the picture? Well things are heating up and I'm so okay with it because at this point it gets easier to write. **

**You guys are too amazing! You don't know how much your reviews make my day and get me through tough times. So for that, thank you!**

**Anyways, please suggest some good Percabeth fics because I'm too lazy to scroll here and there. I'll appreciate it! Even if it's your own fic, it's okay. I'll read it. I've already had one from the great prettypinkey2 called Flights of Fate so give it a try!**


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